Elements of the Countries
by blackkitten13
Summary: A tragic event has happened. An event that sends six guardians away from their home. Only problem? They're staying with countries. But an upcoming World Meeting might just change the fates of everyone-Equestrian or Personification.
1. London

**Chapter One: London**

Arthur Kirkland, the personification of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, or simply just England, was not having a good day. The magic book he had ordered specifically for him, Norway and Romania had been given away to someone else! And to make matters worse, there was a world meeting at America's place tomorrow. That was the last person, other than France, that England wanted to see.

Admist his anger, England hadn't been paying attention. A figure collided with his own.

"Watch where you're going, you twat!" The Brit spat at the person.

"Well excuse me!" A feminine voice said, equally angry as him. England snapped up to see a young girl, about no more than sixteen, on the pavement. She had straight, long black hair with lone purple and pink streaks. Her skin was pale, as if she hadn't seen much sunlight, and her eyes were like that of Finland. She wore a pink button up shirt with a long sleeve purple sweater over it. She had a pink pleated skirt that went a little above her knees and purple knee socks. Black flats held themselves to her feet and her black hair was held back with a golden headband, with a gold six point star on it. A suticase lay by her feet. The girl reminded England of Japan. Angrily, the girl picked up her suitcase.

"Well, I'm sorry!" She spat at him. "I'm sorry that I'm lost in some stupid city I don't even know because some jerk didn't pick me up at the airport!"

"Well that bloody doesn't have anything to do with me!" England yelled at the girl. "You're not the only one whose day is a piece of-" The girl rapped him on the head.

"Please don't swear." Hopefully this girl never met Romano. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. Could you please tell me where I could find a man by the name of Arthur Kirkland? That jerk was the one who was supposed to pick me up." Bloody hell. England knew he forgot something. The Brit pulled himself to his feet.

"I'm Arthur Kirkland." The girl sighed.

"I never thought that my chaperone here would be so rude." The girl said.

"What are you talking about?! I was only supposed to-"

"Excuse me, Mr. Kirkland, but I must disagree with you. I'm here on important business from my teacher and the queen of my country. And if I remember correctly she told me that you were to make sure I was kept safe." England almost burst out laughing.

"Who do think you are?" England almost laughed. "The Queen of England?"

"No. I am Prin-I mean Twyla. I was sent here on an important mission that could hold the fate of the world." England blinked. Who on earth would send a sixteen year old girl on a mission to save the world?! Then again...he was England.

"Yeah, right." Arthur muttered to himself. "Look, just follow me and I'll take you back to my home."

"Thank you."

* * *

Twilight had never met someone as rude as Arthur Kirkland. Why had Princess Celestia paired her up with him of all people?! Then again-she did say that no one was to know her true identity, henceforth why she had to use a fake name, had to take away her wings and change her indigo hair. Twilight had also tried to change the streaks too, but they wouldn't change.

But how would she describe Arthur Kirkland? His blonde hair was a mess, his green eyes held something secret, and his eyebrows were abnormally large. Not to mention he was downright rude.

"We're here." The Brit told the girl. Twilight snapped out of her trance and looked at the door. It was painted white with a large number six on it. Arthur opened the door and Twilight stepped inside.

The house was neat and organised, but pictures of Arthur and many other men surrounded the place. Twilight's violet eyes fell on a single one. Even though it was in black and white, Twilight could tell that Arthur was defiantly in the picture. He was in a military uniform, and was bandaged. But he was smiling. Four other men surrounded the Brit. They were all wearing military uniforms and smiling as well. Her pale hands picked it up.

"You were in the military?" The princess asked curiously. Arthur turned towards her. He saw the picture in her hands and took it from her.

"Yes I was." The man answered. "A long time ago." Arthur placed the photo back on it's shelf. "The guest room is down the hall and to the left. Please don't touch anything. Now if you excuse me, I have to get started on dinner." Arthur left Twilight alone. The girl's mind began to race. Why had he taken the picture from her so suddenly? Violet eyes looked at the black and white photo again before they headed off towards the guest room.

The door to Twilight's room was dark brown, with several scratches in the wood. The room itself caught Twilight by surprise. The floor were hardwood and the walls were a cream color. In the middle was a queen sized bed with dark green bedding. An Union Jack hung above it. On the left was a dresser with a large mirror hanging over it. To the right was a simple desk with a single lamp on it. The faint scent of hamburgers and roses reached Twilight's nose. She sighed and threw her suticase on the bed. Her fingers flicked it open and her hands took out a single photograph. Depicted was her, the Mane Six and Spike, unnatural parts and all. The image was captured shortly after Twilight's coronation. A faint smile lit up the girl's face as she placed the picture on the desk.

* * *

Meanwhile, the food England had prepared was finished-and burnt. Smoke fumes clouded his face and Britain began to cough, one of his hands pulling out the tray and the other searching for the window. A pair of soft, feminine hands guided it to the windowsill, where the three hands pried it open. The smoke cleared and England saw Twyla standing over him.

"What is that?" She said, gesturing to the black mess on the tray England was holding.

"Dinner." The Brit answered. Twyla stared at it, as if her eyes were asking if she seriously had to eat it. England opened his mouth to speak, but the phone in the other room rang. He groaned and went to answer it, leaving the food and the foreign girl alone.

"HEY IGGY, DUDE!" America's voice rang out as soon as England put the receiver to his ear.

"America!" England snapped back. "I'm very busy right now! I hope you have a good reason for calling me!"

"Huh?" England heard another voice on America's end. "Oh yeah! Thanks for telling me! Hey Iggy! The meeting's rescheduled for next week and not tomorrow!"

"What?! Why are you changing the date so suddenly!?"

"Cause my boss gave me some important job to do and I have to-" The same voice cut off America again.

"America, who is that?" England asked.

"Just some girl. Ow! Hey! I didn't mean it like that!" The girl's voice began to argue with America before the line went dead. England stood there for a moment. That was strange, even for America. He shook his head and hung up.

* * *

As soon as Arthur exited the room, Twilight looked at the burning mess he called "dinner". She stuck out her tongue in disgust. She glanced at the door. Arthur was still talking with someone over the phone. Her face lit up. Twilight streched out her fingers.

"Correct this mess!" She chanted. Her hands lit up a magenta color as the spell was cast. The burnt mess shifted into what Twilight pictured as edible. A laugh crossed her mouth. Twilight could already picture Arthur's face when he saw the food!

As if on cue, Arthur entered the room, muttering something about "America" and "World Meeting". His jaw dropped when he saw the food next to Twilight.

"What-?" He stuttered "How-?"

"I guess it was just magic or something." Twilight smiled. Arthur raised an eyebrow and looked the girl over. His emerald green eyes landed on the meal. He sighed.

"Whatever. Let's just eat." Twilight laughed. Arthur may have been rude, but she did have to admit that he was quite easy to decive. Hopefully, the others were having better luck than she was.


	2. Berlin

**Chapter Two: Berlin**

* * *

Gilbert Beilschmidt, or Prussia/East Germany, was annoyed. Unawesomely annoyed. Some chick from another country was staying with him and West. Germany, who had been too busy to do so, had forced his brother to pick her up from the airport. So here he was, waiting for the girl.

Prussia tapped his foot impatiently. He didn't have time for this! Prussia would have rather been at home or out with France and Spain. For God's sake, he didn't even know what the girl looked like! All West had said-or all Prussia caught- was that the girl had eyes similar to his. He ran a hand through his sliver hair. That piece of information made no sense what so ever.

"Hey! Uh...excuse me?" An annoyed voice came from behind the Prussian. Prussia leaned back from the chair he was in to face the person speaking him. It was a sixteen year old girl. She had long, messy rainbow-colored hair that was pulled into a ponytail. Her skin was slightly tanned and her eyes were a bright red-violet. She wore a simple light blue t-shirt with multi-colored fireworks over it and the word "Wonderbolts" in large yellow letters. A pair of torn up denim shorts hugged her toned legs. She had socks on that went up below her knees. They were mulitcolored like her hair. A pair of dark blue converse hugged her feet. The girl was playing with a golden necklace that was around her neck, from which a gold lightning bolt shaped charm hung."Can you speak English?"

"Ja." Prussia repiled. "Vhy?"

"Thank God!" The girl said. "I'm looking for some guy named Ludwig...uh..."

"Beilschmidt?" Prussia guessed. The girl nodded confidently. Prussia stood to face her. "Zhat vould be mien bruder, my brother. He sent me here to get you."

"Sweet!" The girl picked up a dufflebag that had been resting at her feet. "So...who are you?" The words stung Prussia a bit. He had heard many people ask what Prussia was, and it hurt him. But this was just a human girl who was asking for his name.

"Zhe awesome Gilbert at your service, frau!" Prussia said, grinning. The girl laughed.

"Well, 'Awesome Gilbert'," the girl said, smiling as well. "Name's Ray. It's short for Raleigh, but don't call me that. It's really uncool."

"Alright zhen, 'Ray'," The Prussian said to her. "Let's get out of here. Zhis place iz starting to bore zhe hell out of me." Ray laughed.

"I like you, Gilbert Beilschmidt." She said as the Prussian led her out of the airport.

* * *

Rainbow Dash was starting to have fun on this mission. Originally she thought the mission was going to suck, mostly because Twilight took her wings away, (She had tried to change Rainbow's multicolored hair as well, but the pegasus refused.) and the fact that Rainbow Dash had forgotten to learn the language or at least pick up an English to German dictionary before coming to Berlin. But this Gilbert guy was totally awesome! He had driven her back to his home, which he explained he had shared with his younger brother.

"WEST!" The sliver haired man called out as soon as the pair entered the house, "Ich bin wieder da!" A man came down the stairs. He was tall and muscular with slicked back blonde hair and icy blue eyes.

"Wo ist das Mädchen, das du sollten vom Flughafen zu bekommen?" The man asked. Rainbow blinked. She really wished that she had asked Twilight to put a translation spell on her before they left.

"Sie ist hier." Gilbert said, placing an arm around her shoulder. "Dies ist Ray." The other man blinked for a bit.

"Schön, Sie zu treffen, dann." The man said "Ich bin-"

"Sie hat nicht Deutsch, kleinen Bruder zu sprechen." Gilbert cut off. "Sie spricht Englisch." The man turned red a bit.

"I apologize for zhat." The man said in English. "As I vas saying, I am Ludwig." Rainbow laughed a bit.

"So you're the Ludwig I was told about?" Rainbow Dash smiled. "Nice to meet you, dude!" Ludwig groaned and said something in German along the lines of "Genau wie Amerika."

"Zhe guest room iz upstairs. It's the last one on your left. I'm sure mien bruder vill be glad enough to show you."

"Vhat?!" Gilbert exclaimed. "But, Vest I vas supposed to meet-"

"Francis called und cancelled. Antonio got himself sick." Ludwig cut in. Gilbert sighed loudly.

"Fine." He grabbed Rainbow's hand and led her upstairs.

* * *

The guest room was where Austria slept when he lived with Germany briefly. But nowadays, Japan and Italy would use it. Prussia opened the door. The room looked the same as it did when he had last been in here. The walls were a pale yellow and the carpet was gray. There was a bed off to the side. It's white bedding was still untouched. The closet was empty and the desk had built up a thin layer of dust. A fan hung from the ceiling and a light was attached to it. Prussia turned it on.

"Zhe room hasn't been used in vhile so you're zhe first one to sleep here." He told her. But Ray was already walking in.

"Don't worry, dude." She replied to him. "It reminds me of home." Ray smiled and tossed her dufflebag on the bed. She rummaged around in it for something.

"Vhat are you looking for, frau?" Prussia asked and walked next to her.

"Something I brought...Here it is!" She pulled out a picture. It showed her, and six others-five girls and one boy. The strange thing about it was that Ray had a pair of feathery, light blue wings.

"Vhy do you have vings in zhe picture?" He asked curiously. Ray's expression turned to panic.

"It was a costume party!" She said quickly. Ray put the image on the table. "These guys are my best friends. I managed to convice her, my friend here-" She pointed to the one with indigo hair and large lavender wings-"Let me bring it."

"Vhere are your friends?" Prussia asked. Ray shrugged.

"I don't remember. Our queen sent us to different places. I got sent here on this mission."

"Mission? Vhat are you, a spy?" Once again, Ray shrugged.

"Sorta. My friends and I are known as the Mane Six. And Mane as in a horse's mane. Not like Main street or something. We're really important back home." Ray laughed a bit.

"So vhy are you here?" Prussia asked as Ray rummaged around her bag again.

"Can't tell you." She answered. "Top secret, by the order of our Queens. And no, they're sisters." Prussia blinked. Ray pulled out another image. It was of her and a male. They both wore blue and yellow jumpsuits and had flying goggles pushed up on their foreheads. She had the wings again, and so did the male, only they were a slivery teal. The guy had spiky dark blue hair and green eyes that could rival Spain's. They both looked happy in the picture.

"Who's that?" The Prussian asked.

"A friend." Ray said, a blush developing on her face. "A close friend."

"Vhat, like a boyfriend or something?" Ray shook her head violently.

"No! Nothing like that! Soarin is just a friend!"

"Soarin?" Prussia asked. "Zhat's a veird name."

"Well, it's just a nickname. He won't tell me his real one." Ray put the picture on the desk. Prussia laughed his usual "kesesese".

"You keep telling yourself zhat." The Prussian turned heel and walked out of the room.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Ray said angrily, following him.

"Nozhing, frau." Prussia snickered. "I'm saying zhat-"

* * *

Rainbow followed Gilbert down the hall. She was angry. She didn't like Soarin, no matter what anyone (or Rarity) said! They were just friends!

"I'm saying zhat-" Gilbert snickered before a loud voice cut him off.

"Was meinst du damit das Treffen verschoben auf nächste Woche?!" Ludwig's voice travelled on up the stairs. Gilbert and Rainbow Dash stared at each other for a minute before bolting down the stairs.

"Es ist mir egal, was Amerika gesagt, ich will wissen, warum!" The blonde said angrily. He was on the phone with someone and once again, brought up what Rainbow had deduced to be America in German.

"Es ist in Ordnung. Es ist mir egal. Ich werde Sie nächste Woche, Italien." He hung up and turned to the curious pair behind him.

"Vhat was zhat about?" Gilbert asked.

"Alfred moved zhe meeting to next week." Ludwig answered. Gilbert groaned and leaned onto the railing. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Meeting?" She asked. "What meeting?"

"Vest und I are zhe German representatives for zhe United Nations." Gilbert answered.

"Nein," Ludwig corrected. "I'm zhe German representative. You just come along so you don't destroy zhe house."

"Zhat one time!" Gilbert shouted as his brother left the room. Once Ludwig had left, Gilbert grinned.

"Kesesese~" He laughed. "Looks like now I get to show you around zhe city."

"That sounds cool." Rainbow repiled, leaning against the wall. This mission just got twenty percent cooler.


	3. Paris

**Chapter Three: Paris**

* * *

Francis Bonnefoy, or France as he was known, had to cancel his plans. His boss said that someone very important was arriving in Paris today and that they would be staying with him. This did not please the Frenchman very much, since he had been looking forward to spending time with his friends before the World Meeting.

France walked towards Paris's airport, humming to himself in French. He wondered who could be so important that they had to stay with him, and not in a hotel. A shriek, much like the one Romano once gave when seeing France, pierced the Frenchman's ears. He snapped out of his daydream and looked around. There was no one. France shook his head and kept on walking. Another scream followed, and this time he found the source. It was girl, who was being cornered by three men in an alley. France sighed. The attitude of some men these days. He walked calmly towards the girl and the men.

"Ce n'est pas une façon de traiter une dame messieurs." France told the men, who turned toward him.

"Sortez d'ici. Ou autre." One of the men said. France laughed.

"Ou bien quoi?" With the force of an elephant, one of the men slammed France into the adjacent wall. The other produced a knife that he used cut in his arm. France winced. Of course, being a nation it would heal quickly, but it still hurt.

"Leave him alone!" The girl said. Her voice was laced with a faint British accent. The third man pushed her against the wall.

"Tais-toi." He said to her. France pulled himself to his feet.

"Je l'ai dit, et je le dirai encore." He said through his teeth "Ce n'est pas une façon de traiter une dame." The two men who had held onto France came after him. The nation ducked, so that they both ran into each other. The pure force of it knocked them both to the ground. France laughed. This was easier than attacking Italy...unless Germany was around. The third man held a knife to the girl's neck.

"Prenez un pas de plus. Je vous défie." The man said. France froze. He most certainly did not want the girl to get hurt, but he couldn't just stand there. The expression on the girl's face changed to anger. With what seemed to be a great force, she slammed her foot onto the man hold her. The man let her go and held his foot. The girl grabbed a suitcase off the ground and France's hand. Understanding what she was about to do, France ran along side her.

The pair ran a good three blocks before coming to a stop at a bench. They both sat down. France glanced over at the girl and got a good look at her appearance. The girl looked about sixteen. Her hair was a dark chocolate brown that was curled elegantly and pulled into a ponytail off to the side and her eyes were a beautiful royal blue. Her clothing of choice was a simple white button up work shirt and a pair of light blue pants that stopped above her knees. A pair of white heels were on her feet and a golden necklace with a gold jewel shaped charm hung around her neck.

"Êtes-vous bien, mademoiselle?" France asked her. She nodded.

"I'm fine, just a little shaken up." The girl answered in English.

"Do you speak French?" France asked in the same language.

"No, I only understand it. I can't speak it." She answered before standing. The girl brushed the dirt off her shirt. "Thank you for saving me, by the way. I had just arrived here when those brutes tried to get this from me." She gestured towards her necklace. "It's a very important object where I'm from and I can't lose it."

"We should get you back to ze airport." France said, standing up as well. "Whomever iz meeting you zere will be worried, non?"

"Yes, I believe so." France and the girl walked side-by-side back to the airport.

"Thank you once again Monsieur-" The girl said.

"Bonnefoy." France answered for her. "I am Francis Bonnefoy."

"Thank you then, Monsieur Bonnefoy. I am Rachel, a representative sent from my country to France." France blinked before taking the girl's hand.

"If you are Rachel, zen I believe we 'ad no reason to walk back 'ere." Rachel blinked while France laughed quietly. "I am ze one zey sent to get you. I'm am sorry for what 'appened, but I beileved zat ze plane would arrive later zen it did."

"It's quite alright, Monsieur Bonnefoy. There's no need to apologize."

"Call me Francis, mon cher." Rachel blushed a nodded. "Follow me and I'll show you where you'll be staying in Paris."

* * *

Rarity couldn't believe her luck. The man who had saved her had been the same one who was to meet her at the airport. She was glad that someone had stopped those three. The unicorn girl suspected that they were with the same group that had taken the Elements from the Tree of Harmony in the first place. However, this was only a guess.

Francis led her to a beautiful flat that overlooked the city. Rarity smiled. Being sent to France for the mission wasn't so bad after all.

"This is very beautiful, Francis." Rarity said, smiling. Francis smiled back.

"Merci, Rachel." He answered. Rarity's highly trained eyes caught sight of the tear in Francis's shirt. Then, she remembered that one of the men had cut him.

"Oh my stars!" She exclaimed. "In the excitement I forgot you were hurt!" Francis looked over at the tear.

"It is nothing, mademoiselle!" Francis reassured her. "Just a scratch!"

"Either way let me see it." Rarity took his arm and looked at the cut. It was barely even there, as if it had healed. Francis tore his arm from her grip.

"See, madame? Just a scratch." Francis laughed, but Rarity raised an eyebrow. He was definitely hiding something. Then again, so was she.

"Then at least let me fix the tear. It's the least I could do."

Despite Francis's protests, Rarity was sewing up the tear. Generosity-1, Frenchman-0. Francis was leaning over her shoulder, watching her work. Rarity pushed her red work glasses up on the bridge of her nose. With Francis watching her, it made the Equestrian uncomfortable. The only one whomever saw Rarity work was her younger sister, Sweetie Belle.

"Finished." She said, cutting the thread and handing it back to Francis. The Frenchman examined it.

"Very impressive, mademoiselle." Francis said, smiling. He pulled the shirt back on. "As if the blade had not even cut into it."

"I am a designer, back home after all." Rarity explained, taking off her glasses. "A very popular one at that."

"I wish I could see you work more often." Francis said. "It's like watching art being made."

"Thank you." Rarity felt a blush form on her face. "Now if you excuse me, I'll be getting settled-" A nearby phone rang.

"Ze guest room is to ze right." Francis told her. "If you excuse me." Francis went to answer the phone, and Rarity went to the guest room.

* * *

France stopped the phone from ringing and answered it.

"Bonjour?" He asked.

"Hello, frog." A British accented voice answered on the other end. France perked up.

"Bonjour Angleterre~" He sang into the phone. England groaned on the other end.

"Shut up. I need to talk to you." England said rather harshly.

"Someone woke up on ze wrong side of ze bed." France muttered.

"I heard that."

"Sure you did. Anyway, can't it wait until ze meeting tomorrow? I'm busy at ze moment."

"It's about that meeting, you git." France raised an eyebrow. "America moved it to next week."

"Quoi? Did 'e say why?"

"If that idoit did, I didn't hear. The line went dead before he could."

"Does zis mean I won't see my Angleterre until-"

"Hey, Arthur?" An unfamiliar voice came from England's end. "What do you want to do with the rest of the food?"

"Just leave it on the counter. I'll get to it later." England told the person before returning to the conversation."And don't call me that, frog."

"Who was zat?" France asked, curiously.

"A guest of mine and what does it matter? My personal life is none of your business."

"Don't be like zat Arthur. I know you want to see me-"

"I certainly do not want to see you! Nor do I want to be near you! Both physically and geographically! I just called to tell you about the meeting, nothing else. Good bye!" France heard the dial tone on the other end. He placed the phone down.

"You 'aven't changed at all, 'ave you Arthur?" France said to himself, although Britian's words had, for once, truly hurt him.

"Francis?" Rachel's voice asked. France snapped out of his trance.

"Oui?" He replied in his native language.

"I was wondering if I could use the phone for a moment." Rachel asked. "I promised my sister I would call her when I arrived." France nodded and handed the phone to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes. I am fine." France answered. "My friend just called me is all."

"Did they say anything-"

"Non, non, non, cherí. 'E just told me zat a meeting zat I 'ave was switched to next week. You see, I am ze French representative for ze United Nations."

"Alright, just making sure that you're alright." Rachel repiled. France grinned a bit and headed off towards the kitchen.

"You're so generous, it's almost rare to find zat in a person, zese days." He called to her. Although he couldn't see it, Rachel began blushing.


	4. Tokyo

**Chapter Four: Tokyo **

* * *

Kiku Honda, or Japan, was walking calmly through the streets of Tokyo. He didn't like the streets very much, since they were so crowded, but today the fact that he had to get through them was essential. Japan was to pick up a girl from the airport. She was supposed to be a diligent from another country, a very important one. The girl would be living with him during her stay.

Japan had soon arrived at Tokyo's airport and took a deep breath to keep himself calm. Crowds. Japan had a great dislike for them. But his task was almost finished. He just had to find the girl and go home. Simple. Only...Japan's boss never told him what the girl looked like. The nation sighed. This was going to take longer than he had thought.

But out of his peripheral vision, Japan saw a young girl, no older than sixteen leaning against the wall. She was pale, with long pale blonde hair that fell down to her knees. Her eyes-or eye because the other one was covered by her hair-was a brilliant turquoise. She was wearing a yellow sweater and a pair of dark forest green pants that were tucked into a pair of dirt brown boots. A gold necklace with a gold butterfly shaped charm was around her neck. She held a suitcase tightly to her chest, as if she was terrifed. Japan couldn't stand the sight and made his way over to her.

"Anata wa daijōbudesuka, ketsujō?" He asked the girl. She whimpered. The girl was scared. "Watashi wa anata o kizutsukeru tsumori wanai." The girl blinked for a moment.

"I'm sorry, sir." She said in English. "But I don't understand what you're saying." Japan smiled.

"It's arright, miss." Japan said in English for her. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"T-Thank you." She stuttered. "I don't speak Japanese very well, but I was sent here on an assignment, and I couldn't say no."

"I understand. I am the Japanese representative, Kiku Honda. I berieve that you are to staying with me whire you're here?"

"Yes." The girl answered. "My name is Felicity."

* * *

Fluttershy didn't like the crowds of Tokyo, and she could tell that Kiku didn't either. He must have been claustrophobic, because he had an uncomfortable expression on his face.

"Are you alright, Mr. Honda?" She asked in a quiet voice. Kiku nodded.

"I'm fine, Miss Fericity." Kiku answered. "I just don't rike crowds."

Soon, the pair had arrived at Kiku's home. It was close enough to the city that it wasn't a very long walk, but far enough that it was quiet. Sakura trees-as Fluttershy remembered Applejack calling them that once- were around the place.

"Your home in very beautiful, Mr. Honda." Fluttershy said, looking at the sakura trees.

"Arigatō." Kiku responded. He opened the door and ushered Fluttershy inside.

Kiku's home looked like a cross of a modern and traditional Japanese home. It was beautiful, just like the outside.

"Prease make yourself at home, Miss Fericity." Kiku said calmly. Fluttershy smiled. So he was happy to be out of the crowds of the city.

"It's alright, Mr. Honda. This reminds me of my home." Kiku blinked. "I mean it's very similar. Nice and secluded, but close to nature."

"If you don't mind me asking, but what is your home country rike?" Kiku asked. He led her to a sort of a porch, which overlooked a small pond. He sat down and gestured for her to do the same. Fluttershy slid next to him.

"My country?" Fluttershy questioned. She thought for a moment. "It's a sort of a magical place. Everyone there has a special talent that we use to work together in harmony."

"Speciar tarent?" Kiku asked. Fluttershy nodded. "What's your tarent, Miss Fericity?"

"My talent? Uh...I sort of..." She mumbled the rest.

"I'm sorry, but I courdn't hear you."

"I'm sort of an animal caretaker." Fluttershy said, pulling her new blonde locks out of her face. She kept the part of her actually understanding the creatures out of the conversation.

"That's interesting." Kiku replied as a sakura blossom fell into the pond. The pair kept silent until a bark interuppted their thoughts. Kiku and Fluttershy turned as a white dog walked to Kiku. He scratched the dog fondly behind its ears.

"Is he yours?" Fluttershy asked. Kiku nodded.

"This is Pochi, my dog." He said, smiling. "I berieve that Tama is somewhere. He doesn't rike strangers very much."

"I understand. Do you mind...?" She asked. Kiku nodded and Fluttershy stroked the dog's fur and smiled.

"I find it easier to communicate with animars instead of humans. I-I-I mean other peopre." Kiku stuttered.

"It's okay, Mr. Honda. I know how you feel."

* * *

Japan blinked at the girl. She wasn't acting very shy, like the way she had been acting before. He smiled. Maybe having her stay with him won't be so bad.

From inside the house, the phone rang. Japan stood.

"Sumimasen, Fericity-san." Japan told her as he went back inside. After the phone ran for the fifth time, Japan answered.

"HEY, JAPAN!" Japan jumped at the voice.

"Kon'nichiwa, America-san." Japan greeted once he was over the shock of the American's voice.

"What's up, bro?" America asked.

"I'm in the middre of something, America-san." Japan said quickly.

"Okay. So listen, I need to tell you something. I'm moving the meeting from tomorrow to next week."

"If it doesn't bother you, may I ask why?" Japan asked.

"I have something way more important than the meeting! What else? It's okay with my boss and everything."

"I hope you know what you are doing, America-san." Japan said before he hung up. He sighed and walked back to Felicity, wondering what could be more important to havs America pospone the world meeting?

"Is everything alright, Mr. Honda?" Felicity asked when Japan sat down next to her again.

"Yes, Fericity-san." Japan answered. "One of my correagues just postponed an important meeting."

"Did he say why?" Japan shook his head. "Well, it must be very important for him to do so."

"I hope it is."


	5. New York City

**Chapter Five: New York City **

* * *

Alfred F. Jones, or the United States of America, was leaning against the wall of New York's airport. Unlike most countries, America didn't live in his capital. He felt that New York fit him better.

Wait...why was he here again? Oh yeah, some super important person was supposed to be staying with Alfred. At least that's what his boss said. America kinda zoned out after that.

"Hey!" A voice with a thick southern accent snapped at him. "Excuse me?!" America snapped out of his daydream and looked over at the person yelling at him. It was a sixteen year old girl. Her skin was heavily sun kissed, as if she spent most of her time outside. Freckles sprinkled her face and her blonde hair was pulled into some kind of ponytail. Her shirt was an orange button up that cut off at her elbows and had thin red stripes going both vertically and horizontally across it. She also wore a pair of jean shorts and cowboy boots. A western-style hat lay on top of her head and-strange thing here-a gold necklace with a gold apple shaped charm hung from her neck.

"Um...Hey?" America said to the girl.

"Finally! I was trying to get your attention for the past five minutes!" She said angrily. "I'm looking for a guy named Alfred Jones. Know where ta find him?" America smiled.

"I sure hope I do!" America laughed. "Cause I'm Alfred Jones! Nice to meet you!"

"Whatever." The girl said, slinging a bag over her shoulder. "Name's Alice. But can call me Ally for short. Everyone does."

"Alright then Ally," America said, taking her by the hand. "Follow me!"

* * *

Applejack followed Alfred to an apartment that overlooked the Statue of Liberty.

"I'm surprised you were able to keep up with me!" Alfred laughed. "Most people say that I don't know my own strength."

"That makes two of us." Applejack laughed. "My friends say the same thing."

"Really?" Alfred asked. Applejack rolled her eyes. "So...why are you in New York anyway?" Applejack glared at him. She had two options. One: She could lie to Alfred, but Applejack had only lied once in her entire life and that had been under Discord's influence. Two: Tell him the truth.

"I'm here on a important assignment." Applejack answered. "Please don't ask me anymore."

"Alright." Alfred sighed. "I won't ask anymore questions. Hey, you want me to show you your room?" Applejack nodded. Alfred opened a door that led to a simple room. Both the floor and walls were hardwood and the rest of the room was simple. It smelled of pine trees.

"Thanks, Jones." Applejack said, tossing her bag on the bed.

"Hey, Ally! I have an idea!" Alfred said excitedly. "Why don't we go sightseeing tomorrow? Sure, I'll have to move some things around, but it'll be fun!" Applejack shrugged.

"Sure, why not?" Applejack replied. Alfred smiled.

"Woo! I'll go move that meeting I have tomorrow! Hopefully no one'll get mad!"

"Uh...meeting?" The Equestrian asked.

"Yeah...I'm the United Nations rep for the USA! I just have to change the meeting to next week, make a few calls and easy!" Applejack rolled her eyes. Alfred must have dropped on his head as a kid...a lot.

* * *

America made one of the biggest mistakes in his life. And now, Ally was throwing pillow after pillow at him.

"Hey! Quit it!" He said, hold his hands to his face. The girl had overheard his conversation with England.

"I am not 'just some girl'!" Ally said angrily as she threw another pillow. "I am a hard-working, honest-to-the-core country gal!" Ally threw another pillow, but America caught it. He fired it straight back at Ally. It hit her full force in the face, sending her backwards over the couch.

"Who's the hero?!" America cheered as Ally, to his surprise began laughing.

"I knew you weren't just some city boy!" She laughed. Ally hopped to her feet. "And I'm a hero if there ever was one!"

"Really?" Alfred asked curiously. "Saved any lives?"

"Yup." Ally answered. America blinked.

"Fought any bad guys?"

"Yup and reformed a few of them, too." America stared at the girl and grinned.

"Dude, you are so cool!"


	6. Venice

**Chapter Six: Venice**

* * *

Feliciano Vargas, or North Italy/Italy Veneziano, was walking happily through the streets of Venice. It felt good to be back in his city. But, the Italian had to remind himself that he was on an important assignment. His boss-but mostly Romano-had given him the task of keeping an important representative safe.

Anyway, Italy was nervous. Romano hadn't told him what country the person was from, or even if they were a country themselves. Italy wondered around the airport, looking for anyone that he might have seen at a World Meeting. No such luck. He sighed. Italy then felt someone tap on his shoulder. He jumped, frightened by the sudden contact, before turning around. A sixteen year old girl had tapped his shoulder. She had curly light brown hair that rested a little below her shoulders and baby blue eyes. She wore a light pink sweatshirt and a pair of knee length jeans. A mix matched pair of blue and yellow converse were on her feet. A gold necklace with a gold balloon shaped charm hung around her neck and she wore a smile on her face.

"Oopise!" She laughed. "Didn't mean to scare you! I just need a little help. I can understand Italian, very well in fact, but I have no clue how to speak it! I was wondering if you could speak English."

"Si, mia bella." Italy said, nodding. "I am Feliciano Vargas."

"Nice to meet you, Feliciano!" The girl said, shaking his hand, "I'm Diane!"

* * *

Pinkie Pie was happy. Then again, she always was...except for that one time but no one really ever talked about that. She'd just met one of the nicest people on Earth, and after talking with him, she found out he was the Italian representive-or one of the Italian representatives, saying he just represented the Northern half of the country-for the U.N. Right now, Pinkie was bouncing behind Feliciano, and followed him through Venice. The waterways mesmerized the Earth girl, the way it flowed and the way that everyone acted like it was normal. But, Pinkie got a little too distracted. Someone pushed into the girl, and since she and Feliciano were so close to the edge, Pinkie fell into the canal. Her guide grabbed her hand to pull her up, but ended up falling in as well.

When they entered Feliciano's home, both of them were soaking wet and laughing. Another man was sitting in the living room, staring at Pinkie and Feliciano. He looked surprisingly like Feliciano, but his hair was brown and parted differently. He had hazel eyes and the same strange curl that Feliciano had, but on the opposite side.

"Perché entrambi siano ammollo bagnato?" He asked.

"Siamo caduti nel canale." Feliciano answered, still smiling. The other man groaned. "This is my fratello, my big brother, Lovino. He's the Southern representative for the U.N."

"It's wonderful to met you, Lovino." Pinkie giggled. Lovino ignored her.

"Quel bastardo francese ti ha chiamato. Ha detto che la riunione è stata spostata alla settimana successiva." Lovino said. Feliciano nodded.

"Andrò dirò Germania." The Italian said before rushing off.

"Non ti azzardare a chiamare quel bastardo di patate! Fratello, tornare qui!" Lovino yelled at his brother. The younger sibling did not come back. So it was just a soaking wet girl and an Italian representative that clearly did not want to be left alone with said girl.

Pinkie walked over to Lovino and leaned over him.

"What do you want?" Lovino asked rudely. So he did speak English.

"I was wondering if you could tell me about Italy." Lovino cringed for a moment.

"I would if I wanted to, but I would only tell you about the Southern half." Pinkie tilted her head.

"Why?" Lovino glared at her.

"That's none of your business, ragazza." He snapped the book he had been reading shut and put it down on the couch before fleeing the room. Pinkie blinked for a moment, confused, before Feliciano came back into the room.

"I hope my brother didn't give you any trouble..." Feliciano asked. Pinkie Pie shook her head.

"Nope! He was a little antisocial and walked away." The Spirit of Laughter smiled. "But I have yet to meet a person I couldn't make smile yet!"

* * *

Italy tilted his head to the side at her words. "What are you talking about?" He asked. Diane giggled.

"That's my job silly!" She laughed. "Back home, I made it my job to make everyone smile!" Italy grinned.

"Can you tell me what your home is like?" Diane's face turned to that of immense concentration.

"My home is awesome! I was a party planner back home, too! Though I worked as a baker part time in my hometown's bakery. I lived above it with the owners and it was sorta my way of paying rent, you know?" Italy blinked.

"I think so." The nation responded. This girl sure did talk quickly.

"But I have to say, my friends made my home much more special." Diane continued. "I really miss them." She frowned a bit.

"Don't be sad, bella!" Italy said, trying to cheer her up. "You said you make people smile, right? Then it's my turn to make you smile!" Diane cocked her head to the side curiously. Italy smiled and grabbed her hand, leading the foreign girl to the kitchen.

Diane watched Italy as he worked. Italy hummed as he did so.

"Whatcha humming?" Diane asked.

"A song my friend helped me to write!" Italy answered. "Do you want me to sing it?" Diane nodded.

"Hey hey papa, could I have some wine?" Italy sang, translating the words from the Japanese they were written in to English. "Hey hey mama, hey hey mama! I can't forget the taste, Of the bolognese I ate before! Draw a circle,that's the Earth! Draw a circle, that's the Earth! Draw a circle, that's the Earth! I am Italia! Draw a circle, there's Earth! Looking closely, there's Earth! Or maybe it's Earth? I am Italia! Ah, a fabulous world,That can be seen with a swipe of a paintbrush, Let's have a toast with our boots! Italia!"

"You're a really good singer, Feliciano!" Diane commented, hopping up on the counter.

"Grazie, bella!" Italy smiled. "I think it should almost be d-"

"What did you mean when you sang that you were Italy?" Italy froze. He had forgotten to change that part of the lyrics!

"It's just a nickname!" North Italy said quickly. "I show up most of the time for the U.N. meetings, so my friends call me Italy!" He added a laugh at the end.

"Okay!" Diane smiled. Nervousness left Italy's body. His secret was still safe.

He held the plate out to Diane, who took it curiously.

"It's called pasta!" Italy explained. "Come on, bella! It's really good!" Diane put the food into her mouth and smiled.

"This is really really delicious, Feli!" Diane said. She put the plate on the counter and hugged the Italian. Italy smiled.

"Grazie, bella!" He thanked her in his native language. This girl was one Italy would have to show the other nations. Most of them definitely needed to smile.


	7. Kindness and Japan

**Chapter Seven: Kindness and Japan**

* * *

Fluttershy had been staying with Kiku for about a week and the meeting Kiku had was tomorrow. He kept his distance from her, as if he was afraid of getting too close. The pegasus was worried about her Japanese caretaker. She decided to talk to him about it.

"Erm... ?" Fluttershy asked him. Kiku looked up from what he had been doing to face the Spirit of Kindness.

"Hai, Fericity-san?" He asked her. Fluttershy played with the end of her sweater.

"I-I was wondering if you would be kind enough to show me around Japan," She stuttered. Kiku blinked once.

"O-Of course," Her caretaker answered. Fluttershy nodded.

"Okay then."

* * *

Japan was curious of his newfound "roommate". She spent a lot of her time outside and was shy around him and most likely any other human being. Felicity had once mentioned her friends, but when Japan tried to get her to talk more about them, she kept quiet, as if the girl was forbidden to speak about them. It was curious. It seemed like Felicity was very attached to those people. So why had she kept quiet about them?

Felicity walked beside him as of right now. As per her request, Japan showed her around his home. It was both the polite and kind thing to do.

The first place that had popped into Japan's mind was the sakura trees. He remembered how Felicity was admiring the ones outside of his home and thought she would like to see the real trees.

"Thank you for bringing me here, Mr. Honda," Felicity said quietly as the unusual pair walked along the stone path. "I've never seen real sakura trees when they're in bloom." Japan gave an unseen smile.

"Arigato," He responded. "I onry wish that the brooms wourd rast ronger." Felicity gave a curious look. "They onry broom for a short amount of time."

"That's sad," Felicity said, her hand stretched out. One of the falling blossoms fell into it. "I really wish my friends could be here to see this." Japan took his chance.

"If you do not mind me asking," He began, "but you seem very crose to your friends. Why don't you-"

"Because something happened," The girl said, cutting him off. "A horrible thing. My friends and I had to be sepreated. All of us were sent across the world...for our protection...and the protection of our country." Tears began to fall from Felicity's turquoise eyes. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I wasn't even suppose to." Japan's dull brown eyes glistened as he handed Felicity a handkerchief he kept with him. For the first time in a long time, Japan could feel another's pain.

"I understand, Fericity-san." The blonde blinked away the tears in her eyes.

"Really?" Japan nodded.

"Hai. I once had a friend. Back then I wasn't very sociabre with anyone. He herped me to see the worrd and open myserf to new things. But...then something happened. I tried to protect him from a danger that was going to befarr him. But the opposite happened and I ended up hurting him. My friend turned against me and rater hurt me as werr." Japan winced a bit as he thought of the burns America had given him long ago. It seemed like yesterday he had surrendered.

"What happened?" Felicity asked. "You were only trying to protect your friend, which in my eyes is very kind."

"We both rearized what we had done and my friend herped me to get werr again. He stirr does whenever I get hurt or need herp."

"I wish I could meet him." Felicity sighed. "He sounds like a very nice person."

* * *

Fluttershy caught another fallen blossom in her hands. Kiku's story had stopped her crying, and the pair had stopped walking and had taken a seat on a bench.

"I-If you want to meet him, he is one of the U.N. representatives,: Kiku told her. "I'm sure no one wourd mind if I brought you with me." Fluttershy's eyes glittered.

"Th-I mean Arigato, Mr. Honda," Fluttershy answered. Kiku smiled a little.

* * *

It was night now. Kiku and Fluttershy had returned to Kiku's home after Fluttershy's tour.

"That was wondeful, Mr. Honda," The pegasus said to the Japanese.

"Arigato. I had a wonderfur time as werr," Kiku said. Fluttershy smiled. Just then, something had caught her foot-an upturned root from one of the trees-and she squeaked. Something wrapped around her waist and stopped the girl before she fell. Fluttershy looked up to see Kiku, face as red as one of Applejack's apples, holding on to her. Her face went red with embarrassment.

"I-I'm sorry," Fluttershy stuttered as Kiku helped her to her feet. "I should have been looking where I was going. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine, Fericity-san," Kiku stopped her, his face still red. "But your arm..." Fluttershy looked down at her sweater. A protruding branch had snagged the fabric and her skin. A thin, but long, cut was slowly leaking Fluttershy's golden blood on her left arm. Her hand immediately flew up to it.

"Accidents happen, I guess," She laughed.

"Ret me herp you mend it." Fluttershy followed Kiku into his home.

* * *

"Fericity-san," Japan said, "Prease ret me see it." The foreign girl shook her head violently. "It wirr get infected if I don't treat it."

"I'm sorry but I can't!" Felicity said rather loudly. "It's a matter of something I can't tell you!"

"Prease," Japan counteracted. "I don't want to see you in anymore pain." Reluctantly, Felicity took off her sweater. She was wearing a pale gray t-shirt underneath. The girl held out her arm. Japan almost thought he was seeing things. Felicity's blood wasn't red like humans, or personifications. It was gold. Pure gold. Like the gods did in the myths Greece told him. And above the cut, right on the outside of Felicity's upper left arm, was a tattoo of some sorts. It was of three pink butterflies, arranged in a triangle. Felicity covered it with her hand.

"I didn't want you to see that," She said, biting her lip. Japan took Felicity's hand off her arm and took the arm in his hands. Sterile white bandages were soon being tightened around the wound, but Japan's eyes were still glued to Felicity's tattoo.

"Can you please stop staring at it?" Felicity asked. "It's making me feel uncomfortable." Japan snapped out of his daze.

"Sōrī." Japan apologized. "It's just that-"

"My birthmark?" Japan nodded. "It's fine. Nearly everyone back home have marks like these. It's what we use to identify ourselves."

"That's strange." Japan said as Felicity pulled her sweater back on. "In the U.N. we use the frags of our nation to identify ourserves."

* * *

The rest of the night had been spent in silence. As Japan laid in his bed that night, he wondered about his roommate. What was she hiding? Or more importantly-what was she? Felicity was definitely not human. Then again...neither was he. Japan turned over and began to fall asleep. However, a loud crash woke him. Then, a female shriek. Japan knew there was only one other person there who it could have been.

He walked swiftly out of his room and straight to hers with the katana he kept by his bed in his hand. Japan put his empty hand on the door and opened it.

"Fericity-san," said the Nation, "Are you arr-" Japan stopped midsentence when he saw what was going on. A black cloaked figure was holding Felicity in his arms with his hand covering her mouth. The girl looked like she was scared out of her mind as tears slid down her face.

"Goddamn it," said the cloaked figure in a male voice, "Looks like we have company, don't we?" He put a hand on Felicity's face. The girl shuddered.

"What are you doing here?" Japan asked, "Reave her arone." The figure laughed.

"Sorry, well not really, but I need Miss Sunshine over here to complete a certain little task. Isn't that right, Sunshine?" Felicity squeaked in fear. Japan's expression changed into one no one had seen in a very long time.

"I warned you, and now I won't ask again. Reave Fericity-san arone."

"Or what?" Japan unseathed the blade. The figure threw the girl to the ground. "Come at me."

Japan's eyes narrowed as he swung at the figure. The man jumped out of the way. Japan turned, poised to attack again.

"They were right," said the figure. Japan raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you tarking about?" From underneath his hood, the figure smirked.

"Does the name 'Kuro Honda' ring a bell, Nihon?" Japan's eyes widened.

"Mr. Honda...?" said Felicity, "Do you know him?"

"Hai...I do..." answered Japan, "Unfortunatery." The figure laughed.

"You're lucky I have orders not to hurt you, Nihon." The man bowed, "Until we meet again...Nihon." He looked up with a smirk, and in a flurry of black feathers, the man disappeared. Japan stood in shock for a moment before Felicity spoke.

"Are you alright?" She asked. Japan turned around and nodded.

"I shourd be asking you that. He didn't hurt you, did he?" Felicity shook her head and wiped any trace of tears from her turquoise eyes.

"No, I'm just a little shaken up. Mr. Honda...what was that he called you?"Japan slid the sword back into it's sheath.

"Nihon," he said, "It means Japan in my language."

"Do you have any idea why he would call you that?" Japan hesitantly shook his head.

"Not at all."

After the two had calmed down from the excitement, Japan spoke again.

"He might come back for you," he said, "I think you shourd come to the meeting with me now."

"No, it's fine. You don't have to," Felicty said quickly. Japan shook his head.

"I don't want to see a friend get hurt again because of my actions." Both Nation and foreigner's eyes widened.

"I'm your...friend?" Japan nodded.

"You've been kind to me over the past few days. I consider you my friend. It's arright, is it?" Nodding, Felicity smiled. It was pretty cute to Japan.

"Yes, you're my friend, too..." replied Felicity, "Thank you for saving me...Kiku."

"Dōitashimashite...Fericity-chan."

* * *

_A new friendship, forged of compassion, bonded between two souls. The Spirit of Kindness and the State of Japan are now connected._


	8. Prussia and Loyalty

**Chapter Eight: Prussia and Loyalty**

* * *

It had been a week since Ray had come to live with them, and Prussia was starting to take a liking to her. On his awesomeness scale, she was at least a 9.9. Ten was reserved for Prussia only.  
However, the Germanic kept praying that she would forget about the promise he made to her. The meeting was tomorrow, and by then she would have forgotten...right?

* * *

That morning, Prussia was bored out of his mind. He swung his legs off of his chair and stared at the wall.

"Morning, Gil," yawned Ray as she walked down the stairs.

"Guten Morgen," Prussia said back. The foreign girl gave him a weird look.

"What's up with you?" She asked.

"Nozhing, zhat's vhat. I'm bored out of my mind." Ray nodded and looked around the room.

"Hey, do you know where your brother is?" Prussia raised one of his silver eyebrows.

"He left a few minutes ago," he told her. Ray groaned and leaned against the wall, obviously frustrated. "Vhy do you vant to know?"

"I was going to ask him if he could show me around the city. I haven't had the chance to spread my wi- I mean...stretch my legs since I got here."

"Vhy didn't you ask zhe awesome me to do it?" The two stared at each other in silence.

"Why didn't I ask you? Because you've been avoiding it every chance you get."

"Right...vell, I could take you now. A promise is a promise, right?"

"You don't have to. I could just wait-" Prussia put a hand over her mouth.

"I'm not doing anyzhing anyvay. My friend von't answer me, und my ozher one is busy vith somezhing. He von't tell me vhat." Ray removed the pale hand from her tanned face.

"Are you serious?"

"Serious as Vest. Cross mien heart und everyzhing." Prussia drew an "X" over his chest. Ray's face lit up.

"Thank you!" She put her arms around Prussia before jogging back up the stairs. The Germanic stood there in silence for a moment. Had he just let a human get closer than normal to him? He shook it off as he went down to his basement. That's when the thought hit. He would have to take Ray around the city. Which meant...

"Scheiße."

* * *

The pair quickly got ready and headed out of the house. As they walked along the main road, Rainbow noticed something strange about Gilbert. He seemed to be getting more and more uncomfortable as they walked on.

"Are you okay?" Rainbow asked him. Gilbert nodded.

"Ja, I'm fine," he answered, "I just think ve should head back."

"Why? We've only been out here for...what, a half an hour?"

"Ray...zhere's somezhing you should know." Rainbow turned to face him. That's when he grabbed her arm.

"What?" She said.

"Ve need to head back. I...I can't handle it."

"Handle what? C'mon, you're starting to worry me." Gilbert let Rainbow go and kept walking. She had run just to stay at the same pace as him.

* * *

After a few minutes, the pair arrived at a wall. Rainbow raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

"You brought me...to a wall..." she said in disbelief, "You can't handle being near...a wall..." Gilbert gave her a weird look.

"You don't know vhat zhis is, do you?" He asked her. Rainbow shook her head. Gilbert sighed. "It's called zhe Berlin Vall. Most people only come here to see it. Me und Vest hate it."

"I can't see why. I mean it's just a wall." Gilbert laughed under hus breath for a moment.

"It's not just a vall. Zhe Berlin Vall vas a barrier zhat divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. It vas constructed by zhe East Germans under orders of zhe Soviet Union starting on August 13, 1961. It completely cut off Vest Berlin from zhe surrounding East Germany und from East Berlin until it vas opened in November 1989." Rainbow stared at the albino.

"Did you get that off the internet or something?" Gilbert shook his head with a small smile.

"Ah, Es ist lustig, wie Sie den Menschen wurden alle gleich. Kann nicht einmal daran erinnern, Ihre eigene Geschichte auf den genauen Details," he said in German, "But nien, I didn't. I remembered it. I vas zhere vhen it vas torn down. It separated more zhan just Berlin. It separated me und Vest."

* * *

Prussia sighed. He didn't even want to look at the Wall. It brought back any memory of the Cold War and his time under Russia's control that the Prussian had buried.

"I'm sorry," Ray said after a moment's silence. "I didn't know."

"It's fine, don't vorry about it. I actually like zhat memory. Made zhe first strike myself." Ray looked at him. There was a spark in her magenta eyes.

"Wasn't the Wall opened in...1989? You would be way older than you are now to have done that." ...Scheiße. A bead of sweat rolled down Prussia's pale face.

"I meant...uh...Vhat I meant to say vas..."

"You don't have to tell me," said Ray, "We all have our secrets. Heck, even I have one."

"Vhat is it?"

"Tell me yours, and I'll tell you mine." The Prussian and foreign girl looked at each other before bursting out in laughter.

"Smart girl," Prussia said as he stopped laughing, "Hey, Vest should be back by now. You vant to head back?"

"Sure." The two walked back when Prussia's phone began ringing.

**_Marukaite chikyuu __Marukaite chikyuu __Marukaite chikyuu __Ore Supein~_**

With a strange look from Ray, Prussia answered it.

"Hallo, Toni," the Prussian said with a cheerful tone, although he was a little pissed, "Vhat is it?"

"Hey, amigo! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out," Spain said from the other end, "Italy, Romano and a friend of theirs are coming with." Prussia looked over at Ray. Was ditching her to go hang out with Spain a good idea? The way she treated him that morning...it was almost like she had trusted him. He wasn't about to break that trust. Especially that of the first human that had gotten close to him in a long time.

"Nien," answered Prussia.

"¿Qué? Are you sure?"

"Ja, I'm sure! I already promised to do somezhing for someone."

"Alright, amigo. I'll see you at the meeting tomorrow."

"See you later." Prussia hung up.

"Who was that? Ray asked curiously.

"A friend of mine," said Prussia, "He vanted to hang out-"

"So you're ditching me here?!"

"Vhat?! Nien! I said no!" Ray raised an eyebrow before fixing her multicolored ponytail.

"What? Why would you do that?" Prussia shrugged.

"I made a promise to you, didn't I? To show you around Berlin! Und zhat's vhat I'm going to do. Zhe awesome me never breaks a promise!" With a smile, Ray wrapped her arms around Prussia from the second time today.

"Now that's loyalty," Ray said with a grin, "Which is my favorite trait in a friend." Prussia looked at her curiously.

"Friend?" He repeated. Ray nodded.

"Yeah, we're friends, aren't we? You showed true loyalty to me back there. That is what I value the most. Not to mention you're pretty awesome to be around."

"Ja...friends. Vell! Time's vasting! Hurry up or I von't get tos show you everyzhing!" With a laugh, the two ran off into the city.

* * *

Rainbow and Gilbert didn't get back until sundown. This made Ludwig angry since the two had left without telling him where they were going. But Rainbow really didn't care. She had fun with her albino friend. That, and she was already used to getting lectured by Twilight.  
That night was supposed to be peaceful...but hey, it wasn't.

* * *

Rainbow Dash was awoken to a loud noise in the middle of the night. Groaning, she got up and went downstairs to see what it was. There was nothing down there. The only thing that had changed was the fact that one of the windows was now open. Shuddering from the cold, Rainbow walked over and shut it.

"I wonder what made that noise..." she muttered to herself. Suddenly, something- or someone- seized the girl from behind. They covered her mouth to block out her muffled screams. Rainbow kicked at them, digging her heel into their foot. They let go in surprise, causing the girl to fall to the floor. Rainbow stood up and whipped around. Her magenta eyes widened. The person was a black cloaked figure with dark blue wings and an evil glint in his eyes. She pulled herself into a fighting position.

"Hello, Crash," the man smirked, "Always ready to play?"

"No fair, jackass," snapped Rainbow, "The playing field isn't even. You have your wings."

"Oh well. DARK FEATHER BLITZ!" A series of sharp, dark blue feathers came shooting at her. Rainbow ducked as they pierced the wall behind her. However, one of them grazed her arm. Gold dripped onto the floor.

"Big mistake, pal." The man raised an eyebrow. "GILBERT! LUDWIG! HELP ME!" The man took a step back as the sound of footsteps came towards them. The first person Rainbow saw was Gilbert, who stood right between them.

"Hey, arschloch!" The sliver haired man shouted, "Vhat zhe hell do you think you're doing?!" The man laughed.

"Doing my job, Preußen," he said. Gilbert's red eyes narrowed. "Where's your brother? Huh? Where's Deutschland?"

"Leave my bruder out of zhis!" The man shook his head.

"Nope!" Gilbert's eyes darted to the side, and he smirked.

"You know who I am. You know who Vest is. So, who told you? Not many people know." Rainbow raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"I have my orders. I just want the girl. Give me Loyalty!" Gilbert shook his head.

"Zhere's no one here vith zhat name. You have zhe wrong girl!"

"No...he doesn't..." Rainbow sighed as she stood. "Remember what I told you when we first met? That I worked for my queen as a spy of sorts? Well, my codename was Loyalty."

"Ray..."

"Ray?" The man said in surprise, "You mean you don't know? You don't know what the girl really is do you?"

"Stop making up lies und leave! Ray is just a human being!" Rainbow Dash's gaze dropped. She wasn't human. Heck, her blood was gold, and she had wings...not at the moment, but still.

"Not without Loy-" Gilbert, Rainbow and the man all heard the click of a gun. Gilbert smirked.

"Zhere's zhis zhing about mien bruder und I. Ve act as a perfect unit." During the converstaion, no one but Gilbert had taken notice of the fact that Ludwig had come down with a gun in his hand. The German was behind the intruder with the gun's barrel at the back of his head. The man held up his arms in defeat.

"Who are you vorking for?" Ludwig asked. The man smirked.

"Someone you might know," said the man, "But I have to leave. Been so much fun playing with you." The man laughed darkly. "By the way, Gilen and Lutz send their regards." Blue and red eyes widened at the mention of the names. The man waved his hand, and in a whirlwind of dark blue feathers, he was gone.

* * *

Prussia sat down next to Ray, who was addressing the wound she had received in the fight. Prussia looked at the golden liquid that seeped through the bandages.

"So...uh..." stuttered the Prussian, "Vhat's vith zhe blood?" Ray looked down at her arm.

"Medical condition," she said quickly, "Changes my blood color." Prussia nodded, but he knew Ray was lying. He had been around for a long time and knew if someone was lying or not. Prussia's red gaze fell on the ink on Ray's right arm. It was near her shoulder, which made Prussia wonder how he didn't notice it before. It was a white cloud with a tricolored lightning bolt striking out of it. The bolt was red, blue and yellow. Ray covered it with her hand when she noticed Prussia staring.

"You know it's rude to stare."

"How did I not notice you had a tattoo vhen ve met?" Ray shrugged as she secured the bandage around her forearm.

"I covered it up. That's why. This is the first time your seeing me without my t-shirt to cover it." Prussia nodded and looked around the room.

"So, do you know vhy zhat guy vas after you?" He asked. Ray gave him a look that said she was a bit surprised.

"I don't know," she answered, "but he used my codename. He called me Loyalty. He knows who I am."

"Anozher point, he also said zhat you veren't who you seemed to be. Care to explain, Mädchen?" Ray sighed and leaned back into the couch.

"Long story short, there are these really important and really powerful things back home that were stolen. He was probably one of the people that took them. My friends and I are the only ones who can use them. He was trying to get me in order to do whatever the hell he and his buddies werw going to do. Anyway, my friends called me Loyalty since I'm so friggin loyal. It's my dominant characteristic. Any more questions?" Prussia shook his head. Suddenly, Ray's eyes widened. "Oh my god. If they came after me, they're going to come after them too! I need to find them." Ray stood up and headed for the door. Prussia grabbed her arm, stopping her. Ray turned back with a fierce look in her eyes. "Gilbert. Let me go."

"Nien," the Prussian said immediately, "If vhat you said is true, zhen you'll be putting yourself in danger. You can't leave." Prussia let her go. Ray stood there with her arms crossed and her eyes on the ground.

"Then what can I do?" She sighed, "You and Ludwig will be gone tomorrow. I'll be alone. He's going to try to come back for me." Prussia knew she was right. Whatever Ray was, she was special and powerful. And if the 2Ps were involved...it wasn't good. That only left one choice.

"You're coming to zhe meeting vith Vest und I tomorrow," he said, "No buts."

"But won't your brother be angry?" Prussia shook his head hesitantly.

"Nien, I'll handle it. I don't vant my friend getting hurt." Ray smiled.

"Friend?" She repeated. Prussia nodded. "So...you promise not to let me get hurt?" Prussia drew and "X" over his heart.

"I solemnly svear zhat I, Gilbert Beilschmidt, vill keep you, Raleigh vhatever your last name is, safe from zhat veird guy. Now, you go back upstairs und sleep." Ray nodded and turned to head back up the stairs, but she stopped.

"Hey, Gil?" She asked. Prussia hummed in response. "He mention two people named Gilen and Lutz. You guys seemed surprised to hear those names. And what was he calling you? Preußen and Deutschland? What does that mean?" Prussia felt sweat roll down his face, and his skin turn paler than normal. Scheiße.

"Uh..." Prussia stuttered until Ray gave him a cold look. He sighed. "Ve know Lutz und Gilen. It's a long story, und I don't have time to explain it. Zhey basically hate us and our...friends. Zhey vant our positions in zhe U.N. cause I can't explain to you vhy. As for vhat ve vere being called...they're names. In German."

"What do they mean?"

"Not telling." Ray groaned and stuck out her tongue. "Just go to sleep, mein freund." She nodded and headed to her bedroom.

* * *

That night, Prussia and his younger brother had a long discussion about taking Ray to the meeting with them. In the end, Prussia won. After all, a promise was a promise. And breaking that promise would result with broken loyalty between him and Ray. Prussia did not want that to happen. He had finally found a human he could trust after about two hundred years.

* * *

_A friendship formed between two in allegiance. The Spirit of Loyalty and the Kingdom of Prussia are now connected._

* * *

**Happy Birthday to the Awesome Prussia!**


	9. Laughter and North Italy

**Chapter Nine: Laughter and North Italy**

* * *

Italy was happy, heck he always was, but since he made a new friend in Diane, his mood had lightened. She did say that she loved to make people laugh, and she had made the Italian laughed several times over the course of the week. But Italy and his brother had to leave for the World Meeting soon. Diane was trying her best to do something before then, Italy just couldn't figure out what. That was until she had a little assistance.

* * *

Italy hung up the phone. Spain, who had gotten himself sick a few days prior, was feeling well enough to visit the Italy brothers. Hopefully, a visit from Spain would lighten his brother's mood.

"Hey, Feliciano!" shouted a voice. Italy jumped at the sound of his human name. He quickly turned around and came face-to-face with Diane, who was giggling. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you like that."

"It's alright, bella," replied Italy, "Is there anything you need?" Diane balanced on her heels, twirling a light brown curl around her finger.

"Yeah," she said after a moment's thought, "I need your help." Italy tilted his head in confusion. No one asked him for help...he was just...Italy.

"You need my help?" Italy repeated. Diane nodded. "With what?"

"Well, you're smiling all the time. I was wondering if you could give me a little bit of your happiness to help me out!"

"I'm still confused about what you want me to help you with."

"I want to make Lovino smile." Italy's honey brown eyes grew wider than normal. "Not once since I got here has he even smiled. Not one bit! I wanna see him smile just one time. Please? You must know some way or someone that can make him smile!" Italy leaned back against the wall.

"Only two people I can think of can mio fratello smile. One of them is on a trip with some friends, I don't know when they'll get back. But...Antonio is on his way over. He should be here any minute." Diane raised an eyebrow as her baby blues lit up with curiosity.

"Who's Antonio?"

"He's our friend. He sort of raised Lovino, and I always see him smile whenever he's around. Antonio's also the Representative for Spain, so we're all going to head over to the meeting tomorrow together!" Diane nodded as she rocked on her heels. She stuffed her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt and looked up at the ceiling.

"I forgot about the meeting thing..." she said, "You guys will be back, right?" Italy nodded.

"Si! Two days from now. We won't be gone long." Diane nodded.

"Well then. You and me will make Lovino smile! You can bet on it!"

* * *

Pinkie wasn't so sure if her plan would work. She had spent the entire morning drawing it up, and now all she had to do was wait for this "Antonio" guy to arrive.  
She tapped her pencil against the paper she had in her hands when there was a knock on the door. Perking up, Pinkie lifted her head and turned towards the wooden object. There was another Earth girl stood up and answered it. At the door was a man. He was tan, with messy brown hair and brilliant green eyes. He was smiling brightly.

"Hi?" The foreign girl said with uncertainty.

"Hola! ¿Me puede decir donde Feliciano y Lovino Vargas son?" The man asked. Pinkie blinked several times before understanding what the man was trying to say.

"Yeah, they're here! I'm guessing you're Antonio?"

"Sí, señorita. My name is-" A loud crash echoed from inside the house. Pinkie and Antonio exchanged a glance before rushing to see what had happened.

* * *

The girl stifled a giggle as the newcomer helped the Italians to their feet. What had happened you might ask? Tomatoes. Tomatoes and pasta happened all over the floor.  
Lovino tore his hand away from Antonio's grip as soon as he was standing.

"I don't need your help tomato bas-" he said before Antonio put a hand over his mouth.

"Lovi~" said Antonio in a singsong manner, "No swearing in front of a lady~" Lovino stared at Antonio, who had a slight grin on his face.

"Big brother Spain!" shouted Feliciano. He wrapped his arms around the Spaniard, "Yay! You made it!" While Pinkie tilted her head in confusion at what Feliciano had just said, Antonio laughed.

"It's good to see you, too, Italia! But you didn't tell me you had a guest in your company." Pinkie perked up.

"Eh? Oh! This is Diane! She's staying with us for a while!" Pinkie smiled and waved.

"It's nice to meet you, chica! You can call me Antonio."

"It's nice to meet you, too!" Pinkie said with a smile, "Feliciano told be about you. Speaking of which, why did he call you Spain?" All three men paled. Lovino hit his brother in the back of the head, causing the younger sibling to whimper.

"Idiota!" Lovino exclaimed in anger, "Dovete guardare quello che dici intorno a lei! Deficiente!"

"Romano!" Antonio counteracted in his native tongue, "Sea agradable a su hermano menor!"

"Vaffanculo, pomodoro bastardo!" Lovino stormed out out of the room.

"Romano?" Pinkie questioned, "Isn't his name Lovino?"

"Si..." said Antonio hesitantly, "When we were younger, I called him by his middle name whenever he got in trouble...which was often now that I think about it. " Pinkie laughed. Antonio had given her the image of a little Lovino inside of her head.

"I didn't mean to call you that, Antonio..." Feliciano apologized, "And, bella, remember what I told you about my nickname?" Balancing on her heels once again, Pinkie nodded. "It's the same for Big brother Antonio! He represents Spain, so I call him Spain sometimes!"

"Oh. It makes sense...I guess," said the blue-eyed girl. Feliciano and Antonio seemed to sigh in relief. Antonio turned to Feliciano.

"Hey, do you mind if I invite someone else along?" He asked. Feliciano shurgged.

"It's alright." Antonio nodded and left the room.

* * *

Italy and Diane were left alone in the kitchen and began to clean up the mess on the tile.

"Such a waste of good food," muttered Diane, "How did this happen, anyway?" Italy felt sweat roll down his face.

"I...slipped on a tomato that mio fratello dropped," he said quickly, "Lovino fell with me." It was a lie, but Diane seemed to believe it. The truth was that Italy had accidentally pulled Romano to the ground while he had the food in his hands. He don't know how it happened, but he was pretty sure the cause was their curls getting tangled together for some strange reason.

"So, how are we going to make Lovino smile? You said that Antonio being here would work." Italy shook his head as he stood up off the floor.

"It's not that simple, bella. Lovino is very different than I am, so we have to find some other way of getting him to smile. I thought Big brother S- I mean Antonio here would do it, but I was wrong."

As they finished, Diane wiped the sweat off her brow. She stood up and dusted off her hands.

"We can remake it, right?" She asked. Italy shook his head with a sad look in his eye. Diane pulled him to his feet.

"We used the last of the things we needed," Italy said with a sigh. The two stood in silence. That's when Romano and Spain walked back into the room.

"They can't come," said Spain, "But that's fine. We can all spend the day together, si?" Diane nodded with a happy look.

"If we only had some food left, than everything would be perfect!" Romano sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"The market is open...idiota," he said. Spain put an arm around the Southern Italian, which Romano immediately pushed off.

"Lovi, be nice to your brother," Spain told the younger.

"DON'T CALL ME LOVI!"

"Eheheh..." Italy laughed both awkwardly and nervously, "Why don't we all head out? It's a beautiful day." Both the Nations and human nodded.

"Awesome! I get to see more of Italy!" Diane said cheerfully before rushing out of the room. Romano gave Italy a sharp look, the same one he was always given when he did something wrong.

"Watch what you say," Romano said through gritted teeth, "We can't have any humans, other than our bosses, know about our secret!"

"He's right, Italia," added Spain, "It was close with your cover, but you have to be careful. Human names and current events only, understand?" Italy nodded and gave a mock salute.

"Si, Spain," said the Northern Italian, "Si, Romano."

"Are you guys coming or what?" Diane shouted, most likely from the doorway. All three countries exited the room.

* * *

Pinkie was a few feet ahead of everyone else as she and the three boys headed off to the marketplace. She was excited. Although she and Feliciano had walked around the waterway city several times before, Lovino hadn't gone with them. This was Pinkie's chance to get closer to him.

"Slow down, chica!" called out Antonio. Pinkie came to a stop and turned around to face the trio. "We can't go as fast as you. Maybe Feliciano and Lovino can when they're retreating, but not so much me!"

"Sorry," Pinkie said with a grin, "I'm just a little to excited." Lovino rolled his eyes.

"Excited for what? It's only the market. Not a big deal." Pinkie shrugged and started walking again as the boys caught up to her.

"I know. I've been to a market before. There's one back home every week!"

"Good for you." Pinkie frowned a little bit. Was Lovino always like this? If so, her task at hand would be a lot harder than she thought.

* * *

When the group arrived at the market, they split off in two. Lovino and Antonio went in one direction, with Pinkie Pie and Feliciano heading off in the other direction. After a long silence between the two, Pinkie spoke.

"Is Lovino always grumpy like that?" She asked. Feliciano nodded.

"It's a part of his personality, I guess," said Feliciano. "But don't worry, bella! We'll get my fratello to smile! I'm sure of it!" Pinkie smiled at Feliciano's enthusiasm. "I found the pasta!"

* * *

Italy and Diane finished up their half of the list quickly. They waited by the entrance for Spain and Romano. Diane tapped her feet along the cobblestone, humming to herself.

"So...what's so important about the meeting that you and your brother both have to go?" She asked. Italy perked up from what he was doing.

"I don't know, bella," he said as he looked over at the entrance.

"My name's Diane." Italy looked back over at Diane.

"What?"

"You called me Bella again. You know my name is Diane." The Italian felt a small laugh rise in his chest before he began laughing himself. "What's so funny?"

"Diane," said Italy, using the girl's name, "I didn't mean 'Bella' like the name." Diane tilted her head in confusion.

"Then why were you calling me bella?"

"In Italian, bella means beautiful." Diane began to blush heavily until she looked like a tomato. "What's wrong? I didn't upset you, did I? But you are very cute!"

"Thank you..." Diane said. She was obviously embarrassed by Italy's words. "I think you're very cute, too." It was Italy's turn for his face to heat up. He laughed shyly.

"Grazie, bella." Diane perked up as her blush faded. She smiled.

"You are. Even with that curl of yours. It makes me just wanna..." Diane reached out a hand. Italy took a step back.

"You don't want to pull my curl," Italy said quickly.

"Yes I do." She tried again, only to have Italy step out of the way. "Why? It's just a piece of hair. Just let me pull it!"

"Bella." Step. "I don't think-" Step. "You understand-" Step. "What happens-" Step. "When you-" Step. "Pull-" Step. "My curl!"

"Aw, come on! It's just a strand of hair! Lemme pull it!"

"No! BELLA!" Just a Italy took another step away, Romano and Spain entered the scene. Romano grabbed Diane by the hood of her sweatshirt, pulling her backwards. She stopped moving as she stumbled backward. Italy sighed. "Grazie, Fratello."

"What are you two doing?" Romano asked.

"Feliciano has a curl sticking up," explained Diane, "And I wanna pull it." Spain and Romano sweatdropped.

"I don't think that's a good idea, chica," Spain said nervously. "You see...it's uh..." Romano rolled his hazel eyes as he leaned over to Diane. He whispered something in her ear before the girl went bright red. She looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Sorry, Feliciano..." Italy put an arm around the girl's shoulder.

"Don't be upset, bella," he said, trying to cheer her up. "It isn't the first time it's happened!"

"What do you mean by 'this isn't the first time'?!" Romano said in a mixture of surprise and anger. Everyone started tp laugh as they began walking home. "FELICIANO VARGAS ANSWER ME!"

* * *

Even when they got back home, Feliciano didn't answer his brother's question. The rest of the day went by normally- although there were several failed attempts to get Lovino to crack a smile. Pinkie was almost out of ideas, but she still held onto her determination.

As night fell in, Pinkie gave it one last try. As everyone started getting ready for bed, she snuck downstairs and into the kitchen. While everything they had bought was used to make dinner, Pinkie saved one thing she knew Lovino would love. She climbed back up the stairs and walked over to one of the bedroom doors. She knocked on it.

"Lovino?" She asked, "Are you in there?"

"I'm busy, what do you want?" The Italian said from the other side of the door.

"I found something while I was cleaning up downstairs. I want to know if you want it." Pinkie heard the click of the lock. The door opened to reveal Lovino leaning in the doorway.

"Whatever it is, I don't-" Pinkie pulled the bright red fruit she had hidden out from behind her back. She held it out to Lovino.

"Are you sure? I found a tomato at the bottom of the bag. I know how much you love them, so I thought you might want it." Lovino took the fruit from Pinkie's hands and tossed it back and forth between his own.

"First off, I know you're lying to me. Don't even try to say you aren't." Pinkie laughed nervously.

"Yeah...I might be," she said. "I hid it so I could give it to you later." Lovino raised an eyebrow and stopped his tossing motions.

"Why on Earth would you do something like that?" asked the Italian. "You've been bothering me all day. Is this like a truce of something?" Pinkie's baby-blues widened as she shook her head rapidly, her brown curls hitting her face.

"No! I wasn't trying to bother you. I just wanted to make you smile. That's all."

"You were trying to...what? Why would you want to do something like that?"

"Because. It's what I love to do. I get this warm, fuzzy feeling whenever I make someone smile. You haven't grinned at all since I got here. I've made Feliciano smile and laugh a bunch of times. So, I thought why not give you a little smile."

"It's hard to make me even crack a smile," Lovino said as he started to play with the fruit again. "But, thanks for trying. Not many people notice me. It's all above my stupid brother."

"But he's your family...right?" Pinkie asked. Lovino nodded. "And you care about him, right?" Lovino nodded hesitantly. "I know you don't mean it when you call him stupid or something like that. But it's okay. There are people who notice and care about you."

"Oh really? Who are they?"

"Feliciano...Antonio...and me. We are friends, right?"

"I wouldn't say we're friends yet. Acquaintances is more like it." Pinkie smiled.

"That's still good in my book! We're almost friends then. And you can bet I'll be your friend soon enough!" Lovino looked down at the floor. Pinkie heard a familiar and quiet noise come from him. Her smile grew even wider as Lovino looked up with a smirk on his face.

"You keep on trying, ragazza. Good night." He went back inside his room and shut the door. Pinkie Pie silently cheered inside her head as she headed back to her room.

* * *

Italy yawned as he crawled into his bed. It was a long day, in his perspective anyway, and he needed to get his sleep for tomorrow's meeting.

Italy was about to fall asleep when the sound of a fight erupted from outside his door, followed by a sharp crack and a muffled scream. Italy began to panic, almost crying out his best friend's name. He sprang out of his bed and opened the door. The sight he saw almost made his jaw drop.

It was Diane, sitting on top of a black cloaked person. She held his arms to his back, pinning him to the ground. Her right foot was hanging limp, almost as if it wasn't connected. She had this leg thrown over her other knee. On either side of her were Romano, who had a gun in his hand, and Spain. All three Nations were looking at her with open mouths.

"You know that wasn't very nice," Diane said, "Sneaking up on me like that! You almost got me that time!" Diane looked away from the person and to the men around her. "Whoopsie! I didn't wake any of you, did I?"

"Ragazza," Romano said in surprise."What. The. Hell?" Italy helped Diane up as Spain kept the person down. As soon as Diane put her right foot on the ground, she stifled a painful scream. She pulled her leg back off of the floor and leaned onto Italy. The Nation understood what the crack was. During the fight, Diane's foot had become dislocated from the rest of her body.

"Do you know who it is, Lovino?" Spain asked. Romano bent down and looked at the man's face from under his hood. He shook his head.

"Never seen him before," Romano replied, standing back up. "Probably some idiota who decided to rob us."

"I know who he is." Everyone looked over at Diane. "You could say that we're old friends..."

"Like hell we're friends," said the person. "You know very well who I am Laugh-" The man face planted into the floor as Romano stepped on his head, shutting him up.

"I want you the-" Italy had to cover Diane's ears on the one word- "out of this house. Understood?"

"I have a mission, Sud Italia. Can't leave without her or those morons will have my head." Spain looked up at Romano, who stepped on the man again.

"I thought you said you didn't know him!" said the Spaniard.

"But I know you. All four of you. You all have your secrets. Isn't that right, Nord Italia? España? Sud Italia?" The man laughed darkly. "Laughter?" Diane dug her nails into Italy's arm. The Italian was confused for a moment, thinking that she had put weight on her injury again, but then he figured it out. The man had called all the Nations by their true names. He did the same for Diane, or Laughter.

"Why is he here?" Italy asked. Before Diane could even speak, the man cut in.

"Where you not listening? I have a mission here. God, Luciano was right. You are an idiot." Romano stepped on him again as the Nations paled.

"You can tell those insane bastards that the ragazza has nothing to do with their plans, whatever the hell they are," Romano said, "I want you to go tell them to-" Italy covered Diane's ears again.

"Whatever. You all are boring me anyway." A thick, red smoke filled the room. Everyone coughed as the black cloaked man disappeared into the night.

* * *

"Ragazza."

"No."

"Bella, please let us-"

"I said no, Feliciano." Italy sighed. Spain was busy informing some of the other Nations what had happened, while Romano and Italy were trying to pop Diane's dislocated limb back into place. However, the girl insisted that she was fine. But the moment Romano had touched her ankle, Diane pushed him away. She was in pain, but was hiding it.

"Bella..." Italy said as he sat down next to her, "It's going to hurt more if you don't let us fix it..."

"But I-" Diane said before biting her lip. She looked away from both of the Italies. The brothers exchanged glances.

"Ragazza. I will hold you down and pop it back it place myself," said Romano. Diane shook her head.

"No! I can't." Italy put a hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to look at him with worried eyes.

"It will be fine. I promise. It won't get better unless mio fratello fixes it. Believe me, I know."

"I don't think you do..."

"No, I do. It hurts for a moment and then it's all over and you can use your arm- I mean foot again!" Romano and Diane both gave Italy a weird look.

"When did you dislocate your arm?!" Romano said in surprise. Italy laughed nervously.

"Well...uh...I fell down the stairs...in front of everyone..." This was true. During one of the first world meetings, Italy had tripped down the stairs at France's meeting hall, somehow dislocating his shoulder in the process. Germany had been the one to pop it back into place.

Diane pulled her foot in, and she sighed.

"Can you do it without taking my sock off?" She asked. Romano shook his head.

"No, I need to see what the hell I'm doing if you want me to fix it," he said. Diane pulled her foot away even further. It seemed like she was hiding something that she didn't want the boys to see. Now that Italy thought about, Diane hadn't shown the skin below her knees since she had arrived.

"But it's going to hurt..." Diane muttered.

"Of course it's going to hurt! I'm pushing this thing forcefully back into place!" Diane sighed sadly. Italy saw a few of her curls straighten out for a second before he put a hand on her arm.

"Don't be sad, bella!" He said, "Just laugh through the pain!"

"How do I do that? I can't think of anything..." said Diane. Italy thought briefly for a moment before coming to the answer.

"A happy memory. Your happiest one!" Diane leaned back in thought for a moment. Italy glanced down at his older brother, who was using the distraction to his advantage. Romano was slowly pulling the woolen object away from her skin.

"I don't know..." the girl said, "I mean...I have so many. What about you? What's your happiest memory?"

"Mine?" said Italy in surprise. Diane nodded. Only one memory came to Italy's mind. He grinned. "The day I became friends with my best friends. The day we signed the Tripart-" Romano hit his brother's knee. "I mean...uh...ignore that last part..."

"The day you became friends with your best friends?" Diane repeated. Italy nodded. "I have a memory like that too...Can you tell me about yours?" Italy nodded again.

"Well...I had already meet the first one. He's my best friend."

"More like a bas-" Italy covered Diane's ears on the last word and laughed awkwardly.

"Lovino doesn't like him...anyway, we all were in big trouble. So, my friend and I decided to become allies with the other one. That way we could help each other out. But, eventually we all grew close and became friends. Hey! Maybe you'll meet them! They're part of the U.N. too! They're Ger-" Romano whacked Italy again.

"Il nostro segreto, fratello," he said. Italy laughed awkwardly.

"Right..." he muttered before turning back to Diane. "How'd you meet your friends?" Diane leaned back onto the sofa. She hummed a bit before snapping her fingers.

"Oh yeah..." she said before smiling. "I was in a similar situation to you, I guess. We were in trouble. My one friend wanted to go and fix it alone, but we wouldn't let her. After a couple of dangerous tasks, we all made it to this castle where-" With a loud snap, Romano pushed Diane's foot back into place. She sat in silence for a moment with a look of pain of her face.

"OW!" She yelled. Diane went to pull her foot in closer, but Romano grabbed it.

"Is this what you were hiding, ragazza?" He said. "Fratello, come take a look." Italy walked around and knelt down beside his brother. The Southern Italian moved his hand from Diane's ankle to her foot. Embellished on her skin was a tattoo of sorts. It was two yellow balloons with a blue one in the middle.  
Diane pulled her foot out of Romano's hold and took the sock from him. She quickly pulled it back on.

"I didn't want you to see it..." she said while straightening up. "I wasn't supposed to show anyone..."

"It's just a mark!" said Italy as he sat back down next to Diane. "Don't worry about, mia amica! We won't tell anyone! Besides, I think its cute! Not to mention, it matches your personality." Diane smiled.

The three were interrupted when someone cleared their throat. Turning, they saw Spain behind them.

"I called Ame-" he said before realizing that Diane was still in the room. "I mean...I called _Alfred_ and he said that he and a few other na- I mean, _representatives_ have had similar situation earlier."

"What else did he say?" asked Romano, standing up.

"I asked him what we should do about it. He told me that two of them and himself were bringing their guests with them. He suggested we do the same."

"Alfred?" Diane questioned, "Who's Alfred?"

"Alfred is the American Representative," explained Italy, "He was the one who changed the meeting in the first place." Diane nodded.

"Why would we bring her with us?" Romano said, "She's not even a...'representative.'"

"He knew who she was," answered Spain. "He was going after her, right? Not to mention he also called her...what was it?"

"Laughter," said Diane.

"Gracias. Either way, if this man is involved with...the..." Spain shot a quick look at Diane. "...those people, it would be far safer to have the chica with us than here." Romano groaned and started for the stairs.

"Fine," he said, "I'll get the other plane ticket. Buonanotte."

"We all should be getting to sleep," Spain yawned. "Buenos Noches!" Spain turned and headed for his room.

"Buonanotte, fratello," said Italy, "Buonanotte, Antonio." Diane and Italy both stood and headed for the second floor.

"Hey, Feliciano?" Diane asked, "What does 'amica' mean?" Italy looked back at Diane before realizing that he had called her such earlier. He smiled.

"It's the feminine version of 'amico'," the Italian explained, "In my language, 'amico' translates into 'friend.'"

"I'm your friend?" Italy nodded.

"Si, since we met. We are friends, right?" Diane grinned and nodded quickly. She stuck out her hand, extending her smallest finger. Italy did the same, and the two interlocked their fingers.

"Friends," Diane giggled before attacking Italy in a hug, "I love making a new friend." Italy laughed.

"So do I, bella." The two climbed the stairs and headed to their separate bedrooms.

"Buonanotte, bella!" said Italy as he went in his own room. Before he shut the door, he heard someone answer him back.

"Buonanotte, Feliciano."

* * *

_A friendship born of happiness. The link between the Spirit of Laughter and the Republic of North Italy has been made._


	10. England and Magic

**Chapter Ten: England and Magic**

* * *

Twilight had woken up earlier than Arthur, as she had been doing since she had arrived. It was essential that she be ready for the day before he was. Why? Because Princess Celestia had made it clear that her student keep her mark hidden. If she didn't, it would be a give away to who she was. Sure, the others could keep theirs hidden with just clothing. Twilight, however, couldn't. Her mark was imprinted on the right side of her neck, and it would be hard to cover it up with a scarf if the princess had to constantly make sure that the clothing article covered the six-pointed star, which of course would draw Arthur's attention to it. So, before they had separated, Rarity showed Twilight how to cover it up with only a little bottle of concealer. Sure, it would have been easier to use magic to make their marks disappear, but cutie marks could not be made or removed by magic, unless the girls' abilities were taken. That was something Twilight did not want to do.

The princess was currently trying to find the small bottle Rarity had given her before she left for London. It had been on the vanity the night before...or at least, that's where Twilight remembered having it last. She might have misplaced it the night before.

"I know I put it on the vanity last night!" She said in a harsh whisper while searching through the room. "It couldn't have just gotten up at walked away!" Twilight groaned with an obvious frustration and continued to search. However, she was interrupted by a knock on her door. The alicorn straightened up with a yelp.

"Twyla? Are you already up?" said a voice with an unforgettable British accent. Twilight's violet eyes darted over to the clock on the side of her bed. It was 9:28. She groaned again.

"Yes," she answered back. "I've been awake for the last two hours."

"Hurry up, then. I have a lot of things to do today, and I want you to come with me."

"Give me a few more minutes!" Twilight heard a sigh from the other side of the door.

"We don't have a few more minutes."

"Then leave without me."

"...How about no?" There was a small silence between them. "I'm opening this door." Twilight's eyes widened. In a panic, her hands glowed their magenta color, and the lock clicked shut.

"You can't! I locked it!" Twilight continued on with her mad search. She didn't notice when the locked clicked again, and the door opened.

"What are you doing?" At the sound of the sudden voice, Twilight's hand flew to her cutie mark, covering it completely. She spun around to face her English caretaker.

* * *

Twyla laughed nervously, rubbing the area on her neck where her hand had clamped onto as soon as England entered the room. The Brit tapped his fingers against the door's handle.

"I repeat, what on earth are you doing?" He said.

"Just uh...looking for something?" England raised a thick eyebrow.

"You've been looking for something for the past two hours?" Twyla nodded hastily. England stood in the doorway for a moment. "If it can get us to leave faster, then let me help-"

"No!" Twyla shouted. The Brit was taken back a bit. She had never raised her voice before. "I mean...no...I can find it..." She bent back down, continuing to look for whatever she was looking for. Her hand remained plastered to the side of neck. England took a few steps into the room. He leaned up against the dresser.

"It's going to take you longer if you search one handed." There was a thud as Twyla hit her head against the dresser before she stood up. Her hand still hadn't moved. "Here's an idea. Why don't you use both hands?" Twyla shook her head.

"Get out of my room," she stated in a firm tone.

"My flat," England reminded her. "I can go where ever I please."

"Get out, Arthur." England shook his head, denying her request. Twyla was hiding something from him. He sighed.

"At least let me help you look. What is it you're ransacking the room for?" Twyla's face turned a heavy red.

"Just a concealer bottle..." Neither one of them said anything. That was it? All the fuss she had been making was over that? England blinked as he realized something. Twyla's hand had stuck to her neck only when he entered the room. She was hiding something...a scar maybe? However, it would be impossible to recover from a cut to the neck deep enough to leave a scar unless you were a Nation, so that possibility was ruled out.

England took a step closer so he was standing in front of Twyla. He wrapped his hands around both of her wrists. While the black-haired girl tried to keep her hand on place while attempting to push England off of her wrists, the Brit proved to be much stronger. He pulled her hand away from her neck. England's eyes widened. He did not expect to see that. Embellishing Twyla's pale neck was a six-pointed magenta star. Five smaller white stars surrounded it. The girl pulled away from England. Then...

_SMACK_

Britain touched his fingers to his face where the red handprint was now forming. Did she just actually slap him? All because he saw some tattoo on her neck? England did have one as well, on his left shoulder blade. It had been a result of America taking him out for a few drinks after a meeting.

England's emerald eyes met Twyla's violet ones. Tears were welling up in them. Again, why was she getting so upset over this?

"Twyla I-" the Nation tried to say before Twyla pushed past him, running out of the door. England stood there for a second before heading after her.

"Twyla, come back!" She ignored him and ran out of the flat. England watched as she ran off. His eyes widened when she disappeared in a cloud of sparkling magenta mist. "She's a magic user... like I am..." England shook his head, restoring his senses. "Well... this is an interesting plot development..."

Britain rushed back into the flat, making a whistling noise as he did. He went straight to Twyla's room. London was a dangerous place for Twyla to be right now. In her state, her magic would be unstable and could cause all sorts of disasters. For example, destroying Big Ben. England shuddered. He did not want that to happen again.

"Britain?" a soft voice called out. England turned around to see his familiar behind him. He sighed in relief.

"Flying Mint Bunny..." he said, "I need you to do something for me."

"What is it?" England quickly explained the situation to the rabbit. She nodded in response.

"Her magic is unstable, and I'm concerned about her safety."

"You should be. You caused it." England shot Mint a quick glare, but she had been right.

"Nevermind that, I need you to track her down and watch her. In the meantime, I'll use a tracking spell to find you both. Keep her out of harm's way, she isn't a Nation like I am. And don't let her know you're my familiar. She's mad at me, meaning she won't want anything to do with me at the moment. Understand?" Mint nodded and flew out of the room. England looked around. In order to cast the tracking spell, he need an object of Twyla's that was important to her. The Brit sighed.

"Time to see what I can find..."

* * *

Meanwhile, Twilight reappeared in Hyde Park. Tears still slid down her pale cheeks. She wiped them away. She let him see it. Twilight knew she wasn't supposed to, but yet it happened anyway. And she had used magic in front of him. So, he knew about that. Twilight walked through the park as she cried.

"He probably thinks I'm a freak..." she muttered to herself. "A magical freak!"

Twilight's tears soon dried up, and she looked at her surroundings. This isn't exactly where she was trying to teleport to. She tried to teleport back to Equestria, back home. A pain grew in Twilight's heart. Home. How she missed it so much. She missed her brother and Cadance and Celestia and Luna and Spike... Most of all, Twilight missed the warm embrace her friends would have provided her by now. Maybe she could go to them. Or at least one of them.

"Who's the closest?" She muttered, trying to remember where each of her friends had been sent. Fluttershy was in Tokyo... Rainbow Dash was in Berlin... Pinkie Pie was in Venice... Applejack was in New York and Rarity was in...Paris.

Paris wasn't that far. England and France were very close to each other geographically.

"That's it. I can't stand being here any longer!" Twilight picked up her pace. "I'm going to my friends."

Suddenly, something hit the back of Twilight's head with a squeak. She stopped and whipped around. To her surprise, it wasn't a person. Instead, it was a small rabbit. Or at least that's what it looked like. The creature, unlike a normal rabbit, was a soft mint green color with feathered wings. Twilight blinked.

"Hello...?" She said with uncertainty as the creature straightened herself out. "Are you alright?" The rabbit nodded, and her eyes lit up when it saw Twilight. She began to fly in circles around Twilight's head. "Whoa... calm down..." The rabbit stopped. "Who are you? More importantly, what are you?"

"I'm a familiar," answered the rabbit. "You can call me Mint. Brit-" Mint stopped halfway through her sentence. Twilight raised an eyebrow.

"Well... I've never seen a familiar before. But I have read about them," said Twilight. "Aren't familiars assigned to a wizard?" Mint nodded. "My only question is this. Whose familiar are you, Mint?" Mint shook her head.

"Brit- ... He made me promise not to tell you."

"Why...?"

"Because he said you're still most likely mad at him." It only took Twilight a moment to piece together the wizard Mint belonged to. Her hands clenched together in anger.

"THAT JERK!" She yelled. "I can't believe Arthur sent you-" She stopped. Arthur Kirkland, that tsundere whom she had been boarding with for about a week, was a wizard. Twilight didn't see that coming. She shook away her surprise and began walking away with Mint following her.

"Twyla..." said Mint sadly. "Arthur sent me to keep an eye on you. He's not a jerk, he's just-"

"Wizard or not, Arthur's still a jerk, no matter what you say. He disrespected my wishes, and he sent you after me. I don't need a babysitter!"

"But he's-"

"I don't care! He doesn't understand that I have boundaries!"

* * *

Back at his flat, England was in middle of crossing Twyla's boundaries. I mean, he was searching through her things to find something he could use for the tracking spell. No matter how I say it, it still sounds like he's going through her stuff. He is, but that isn't the point. He had been doing so for the past hour. So far, the Brit could not find anything he could sense that Twyla was attached to.

England straightened up and shut the nightstand's drawer. He sighed.

"Nothing," he muttered to himself, "I can only hope that Mint found her. Maybe I could use Mint's magical signature to trace them b- Ow!" As England had been standing, he hit his head on the nightstand, causing something to fall on the floor. After releasing a select few curses, England stood up. His eyes fell on what had fallen. It was a picture frame. The Englishman sighed, knowing that it must of have been Twyla's. He picked it up, but raised a thick eyebrow as he surveyed the image. He could clearly tell it was Twyla in it. However, she was surrounded by five other girls and a small boy. Her hair was not black, but a dark indigo although the streaks stayed the same. She had a crown upon her head with a six-pointed star gem in the center, similar to what she had tattooed on her neck. She wore a beautiful dress that looked like a ball gown. But that's not what surprised England the most. It was the lavender wings Twyla had in the image. They made her look like an angel. England blinked several times. This couldn't be Twyla, right? She was human... was she?

England shook his head, clearing the thought out of it. He looked down at the photo. Its frame wasn't damaged, but its glass had many fingerprints on it. England could also see the dried places were tears had fallen. Wait... tears?

"What is so important about this that it had her-" England stopped midway his sentence. He briefly remembered Twyla mentioning her friends a few days ago. He looked at each figure in the image. "These girls are her friends, aren't they?" No one answered. "And I'm talking to myself. But still... she must be close to them. She did shed a tear over this image many a time." That's when it clicked. England grinned. "Arthur Kirkland, you are a genius!" The Brit ran out of the room with the picture in his hand.

* * *

A few hours had passed since Twilight left Arthur's company. Mint still wouldn't leave her alone, but at least the rabbit had fallen silent. Twilight had begun to walk around London, not sure of where she was going.

"This is all Arthur's fault," the princess muttered to herself. "I wish he would have just left when I asked him to."

"He was probably worried about you," Mint chimed in, causing Twilight to groan silently. "I know he is worried about you now." Twilight stopped.

"He's what?" She asked. Mint flew over and landed on her shoulder.

"I said that Brit- Arthur is worried about you. He said something about your magic being unstable while you were so upset. That is why he sent me to look after you until he can find us. ... Why did you get upset, anyway?" Twilight looked down at the concrete as she began moving along again. She unconsciously put a hand over her cutie mark.

"It's... complicated. I was told not to let anyone see it. This mark makes me easily identifiable."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Given my situation, yes." Twilight took the rabbit in her hands, stroking Mint's head softly.

"What's wrong?" Twilight sighed.

"Mint. There's something I haven't told Arthur," said the alicorn, "I... I didn't come here on a mission like I said. I came here for protection." Mint raised her head and put it against Twilight's chest, her eyes brimming with curiosity.

"Why?" The familiar asked. "I can feel your magical signature is very strong and powerful. Almost as powerful as Arthur's. Why would you need to be protected?"

"They can track me if I use powerful magic. And honestly, do I look like I can defend myself using hand-to-hand combat?" Mint shook her head. "That's what I thought."

"But who are you hiding from? Twyla, you're confusing me."

"And that's why Arthur doesn't know even the half of it. He wouldn't understand." Mint wiggled out of Twilight's arms and began flying beside her again.

"I think he might. It's the same for you. I don't think you'll understand the truth about Arthur." Twilight laughed.

"That's another thing we have in common," she said. But would Arthur understand? Either way, Twilight knew that he deserved to know the truth about the girl he had been with for living the past week. "But you're right, Mint. I should tell Arthur the truth." Mint smiled and flew around Twilight's head, making the foreigner laugh. "So... do you know the way back to Arthur's flat?"

"Not unless he calls for me..." The pair sighed.

"Okay then... Plan B: We walk around until we find something familiar that will lead us back to the flat." Mint agreed and the two began wandering around London. Unknown to them... they were being followed.

* * *

Meanwhile, our favorite Brit was getting ready to cast his spell. He had everything ready. The photo sat in front of him. England held his wand in his hand. He could cast the spell without it, but he felt much more comfortable with it in his hands.

Anyway, England held the star-tipped object out to the photo. He closed his eyes.

"Use the magical bond from this offering to help me find her," he said, picturing Twyla clear in his mind. The photo and his wand glowed a brilliant green. "_VESTIGIUM_!" England tensed as the spell did its work. A white ball of light formed above the photo and in front of England. The Englishman stood still for a moment. He gathered up the photo and his wand, dropping them both on a nearby table. He approached the ball. With one small move, England brushed his fingers against it. The orb responded by glowing green at his touch before returning to white. England grinned. The spell had worked.

"Take me to her," he said firmly, "Now!" The orb spun in the air, its color changing to magenta. It whizzed out the door. England followed after it, slamming the door behind him.

* * *

Twilight walked side-by-side with Mint. Night had almost fallen, and they still hadn't found their way home. Only the lit streetlamps were their guide now.

"I spy with my little eye something gold," said Mint, who had come to rest on Twilight's shoulder.

"My cr-" Twilight said, stopping herself from revealing the transformed object's true nature. "I mean my headband." Mint nodded, nuzzling her face into Twilight's neck. The girl yawned, wondering how late they had been gone. How long they had been walking... well flying in Mint's case. The rabbit had begun to fall asleep, so Twilight was talking to her to keep her awake. She was doing this because Arthur might call her.

Twilight sighed.

"I spy with my little eye something..." Twilight stopped dead. In front of her was a flickering streetlamp. Under its light was a black-hooded figure. But Twilight knew who it was. Her heart pounded. The figure emerged from the streetlamp's glow and began walking towards her.

"Twyla...?" asked Mint. "Why did you stop?" Twilight lifted the rabbit from her shoulder, her hands shaking.

"Go find Arthur," she said with a wavering voice. "Now."

"Twyla what's-"

"Just go. And don't look back, no matter what you hear." With a sad and worried look, Mint flew off. Twilight planted her feet firmly on the pavement as the figure got closer. She could fight him, but truly... she was terrified of him.

"Hello, princess," said the man. Twilight could tell he was smirking from underneath his hood. She took a step back away from him. Her fingertips sparked with magic. "What aren't you pleased to see me?" With a wave of her hand, Twilight sent out a magic blast, hitting the man in the shoulder. He hissed. "Nice to see you too, princ-"

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" Twilight snapped, sending out another magic blast. Her opponent dodged it easily. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"No can do. You see..." The man sent out his own dark magenta magic, striking both of Twilight's arms. Her golden blood leaked slowly out of the tears in her clothes. "We have a plan...and we need you to do it." He sent out another blast, cutting Twilight's leg.

"We...?" Twilight asked through the pain. The man smirked, sending out one more blast that hit Twilight's stomach. The princess stumbled, catching herself on her knees. The man stood over her.

"We," he repeated. Suddenly, Twilight was jerked upwards, another person wrapping an arm around her arms and waist. The other held a wet rag to her mouth. Twilight began to feel lightheaded and dizzy.

"Calm yourself, princess," said a voice Twilight knew, yet its accent was sickenly sweet. Black spots began to dance in her vision. "Everything will be just fine..." And that was the last thing Twilight heard before she blacked out.

* * *

England was still following the orb, which had slowed down enough to let him walk behind. It had gotten late. Shouldn't he have found Twyla by now?

"I'm starting to think I cast this spell wrong..." the Nation muttered to himself. "How long have I been out here? Three hours?" England sighed. "My only other option is to phone the police. God knows what they're doing..." England groaned. "This is hopeless."

"ARTHUR!" shouted voice from behind the Brit. "Arthur Arthur Arthur ARTHUR!" England turned around, snatching the glowing orb from out in front of him in the process. He then came face-to-face with his familiar. The rabbit was out of breath and fell into England's other hand.

"Flying Mint Bunny?" He said in a little curious disbelief. "What are you doing here? I thought I told you to follow Twyla and keep an eye on her until-"

"She sent me to you," Mint cried out, "She sounded scared."

"What happened? Is she alright?"

"I don't know." England felt something wet against his skin. It was Mint's tears. "She told me to go and not look back, but I didn't listen to her. I stayed behind in the shadows. This man came out of nowhere, and she attacked him. Twyla's powerful, Arthur, but her attacks barely did anything! Then the man used magic to cut her up very badly and...and..."

"Calm down," said England, calming the creature. "I'll do the best I can to find her. Then, I'll take her back to the-"

"You can't Arthur..." England look down at Mint.

"Why? Is there something you didn't tell me?" Mint nodded.

"_He_ has her."

"Who? The man who attacked her? I think I could probably take him on myself." Mint shook her head.

"Not him... the other one... the other you." England almost dropped his familiar right there. Him? That psychopath had her? Why? They haven't been active in weeks, and Twyla was just a normal girl, not counting her magical abilities.

England regained his composure and stiffened.

"Mint," he said firmly. "Go back to the flat. Wait for me there. If I'm not back within two hours, go to Cole, Dylan, Seamus, Alistair or whoever is closest. Tell them what happened. Understood?" Mint nodded and hovered out of England's hand.

"What about you?" She asked.

"Don't worry about me. Go." Mint nodded and flew off. England released the tracking orb, which just lingered in the air. He sighed. "I'm crazy. Just bloody mad to be doing this." He straightened up. "Take me to Twyla. And be quick about it!" The orb whizzed in the ir before barrelling down the street. England ran quickly behind it. Adrenaline was running through his veins.

_'I hope that she can hold out a little longer..._' he thought, '_Stay alive! Please... be alive!_'

* * *

A scream rang out in the darkness. Hot tears ran down Twilight's face. She had woken up not that long ago. And now, the once confident and powerful Spirit of Magic was in pain and absolutely terrified. Someone had cut into her flesh with a knife, allowing them to collect her blood.

"Oh come now," said the sickenly sweet voice from in front her. "There's no need to cry about it, poppet." Twilight heard someone approach them. It was the man from before. He pulled the one cutting her arm away from her. The knife clattered to the ground. Twilight looked up, getting a look at them both. The first was the man who had hid his face with a hood, which was now unpresent. Twilight could make out his pale skin and his gold hair that had a light green streak and a yellow streak. His hair was cut similar to hers, only shorter, going to the back of his neck. His yellow eyes pierced the darkness. He was still dressed in the dark clothes from before. He looked like a male Twilight... sort of.

The second man, however, confused Twilight with his appearance. He looked almost exact to the man she had begun to put her trust in. Arthur. But there were several differences. He had strawberry blonde hair, though his was more relaxed than Arthur's was. He had freckles spotted along on his cheeks. His eyes were a bright cerulean. This Arthur imposter also wore similar clothes to him, only to have the color scheme mixed around. He was dressed in a white dress shirt, a dark pink vest, a bright blue bowtie and neat dress pants.

"What do you think you're doing?" seethed the male Twilight. "My orders were to bring her in unharmed." The imposter Arthur laughed.

"I'm afraid you already broke that rule," he said, pulling himself out of the golden haired man's grip. He picked up the knife off of the floor and ran a finger along the clean edge, wiping the blood onto his finger. "And I wanted to see if the rumor was true."

"What rumor?"

"When Kuro said that the royalty and Elemental bearers had the blood of the gods." The other Arthur popped his bloody finger in his mouth, wiping it clean. Twilight's eyes grew wide. How did he know about that?! "Yummy, isn't?" The male version of her scoffed at him.

"You were suppose to stay here."

"Oh, but it's so much more fun with two! And besides, if Magic here was with Artie, you would be in a jar, Sunshine." The male Twilight growled at the last word.

"If you're going to say my name Oliver, say it right. Dusk Shine. My name is Dusk Shine."

"But I think Sunshine fits you better." Oliver laughed and turned to Twilight. "Just like Twilight fits for Magic!"

"Magic..." Twilight repeated. Something clicked in the back of her head. "How do you know that?" Oliver laughed again and put the flat end of the knife under Twilight's chin, lifting her head so the two were looking each other in the eye.

"I know everything about you, princess," he told her. "After all..." He pulled something out of his pocket, holding it up for Twilight to see. Her eyes couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was her element. Magic. "This is what you're missing, right? This is why you're here."

Twilight made a grab for it, but her hands were bound behind her back. Oliver pulled away. Dusk laughed and took the gem from his partner. He twirled it between his fingers.

"We can't let you get this, my dear Twilight," he said, running his hand down her face. Twilight turned away.

"You have my Element," she spat, "Why do you need me?" Oliver laughed.

"Silly little princess," he laughed, "None of our hearts are pure enough to use them. And I know that you know that only you and the other Elemental bearers can use them." Twilight groaned and looked at ground.

"You did your research."

"Naturally. And since we have you, we can use this leverage to draw out the other bearers if the others-" Dusk covered Oliver's mouth.

"Shut your mouth," he seethed. Dusk slid the Element of Magic into his pocket and walked out of the room, taking Oliver with him. As soon as they were gone, Twilight let her barrier break. Tears slid down her face and onto the floor as she cried silently. Why? Because she knew that she and her friends were as good as dead.

* * *

England stopped outside a normal looking home. The orb dissipated before him, giving him the signal that Twyla was in the building before him. His eyes narrowed.

"So... this is it," he muttered to himself. "I'm going in there. God, I feel like I'm walking into a trap." England ran up to the door and tried to open it, only to find that it had been locked.

"Figures." Britain raised a hand, slamming it down on the wood several times. "OPEN THIS BLOODY DOOR!" There was a second of silence.

"Hmm... how about a 'no', Artie?" said the sickenly sweet voice so much like his own from the other side.

"Oliver! Open this bloody door before I-"

"Before you what? If I recall, I did nothing wrong... this time."

"I know what you did. Mint saw the entire thing." England hit the door again. "I'm asking before I lose my temper. Where is she?"

"Where's who?" England clenched and unclenched his hands.

"OLIVER! OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR!"

"The answer is still no, darling." England pressed his hand against the door handle.

"_Alohomora_!" He muttered through his teeth. The lock clicked open, allowing him to open the door. The two doppelgangers faced each other.

"Hello, Arthur," said Oliver. He was holding a knife that had the faintest traces of gold on it. England crossed his arms.

"I want an answer," he stated firmly. "Where is she?" The second player laughed.

"Who?" He asked. England gritted his teeth together.

"Her name is Twyla. She's sixteen years old and looks similar to Kiku with violet eyes. But you should know that since you took her." Oliver looked up at the ceiling, twirling the knife's handle in his fingers.

"Oh yes, her. I didn't know if you would come after her, Artie. The poppet seemed to be upset with you. You were never the perfect gentleman, were you?"

"Shut up! She's just an ordinary human girl. She has nothing to do with the Nations!"

"An ordinary human being? No, Artie. I'm afraid the magic she possesses is you'll never understand. That princess you're calling ordinary isn't even human!" England didn't move. The last sentence repeated in his mind. "Oh, did I hit a nerve? My bad!" England ignored his 2P. He was still trying to find the words to form in his mouth. The girl he had been living with for a week was a princess. On top of that, she wasn't human. The photograph from before flashed into his mind's eye. Now, Twyla's appearance in it made sense.

England shook his head, clearing it of all thoughts.

"Human or not, she still has nothing to do with you or me," he said. "Hand her over or else." Oliver shook his head. With a simple flick of his wrist, the knife in his hand pierced England's shoulder. The Brit cried out in pain for a split second. The force of the throw pinned him to the wall. Oliver walked towards him.

"That's where you're wrong," said Oliver. "She is the key to your downfall! Well, her and five others. But that is none of my concern." England narrowed his eyes.

"No, I'm afraid you're wrong. She not involved in any of this."

"No, I'm right. 'Twyla' as you call her, is one of the bearers to six... Elements as they're called. They are very powerful. However, only the bearers can use them. We have plans for them. Big plans." Oliver pulled the knife from England's shoulder, using a free hand to pin him still. "All we have to do is get the other bearers. In fact, we were just about to deliver our prize. Too bad you won't be around to see her true power!" Oliver pulled England away from the wall and wrapped his arm around his neck. Just as he had done this, two people entered the room. The first was a man. He was dressed in black to cover his features. The second he held tightly in his arms. It was Twyla. Her pale face was stained with tears, and her violet eyes had gone bloodshot. Her clothes were torn in a few places, and the skin underneath had a dried gold substance on it, along with the edges of the tears. The man held a hand over her mouth. She looked absolutely terrified.

"Am I interrupting something?" The man asked. Oliver shook his head.

"Not at all. How's our princess?" Oliver responded.

"A pain in my a- neck. She tried to bite me at least ten freakin times." England could feel Oliver smile.

"I like the feisty ones. Although, I think we should put Artie here out of commission. Permanently. We can't have the first players knowing about our little plan, now can we?" England put his hands on Oliver's arm. He pulled it off of him and seized his 2P's wrists.

"How the hell?!" exclaimed the man.

"Oh, you never play fair, Arthur," said Oliver as he tried to pull free of England's hold.

"Since when do you?"

"Well played." Oliver pulled the hand in which he held the knife out of England's. He swung the blade across Arthur's torso, missing by only an inch when the first player moved back. England kept his ground. His fingertips sparked with energy. He looked at the second player. Those blue eyes of Oliver's were now swirling with pink. "Magic, Arthur? Haven't you learned?" Oliver swung again, cutting into Arthur's arm. England winced. "Never use magic when battling with a blade. Did your pirate days teach you nothing?" Arthur's emerald eyes narrowed.

"No," stated the Nation. "I learned plenty." England could feel the magic flowing through his veins. "For instance... _Expelliarmus_!" The bolt from a England's hand shot onto Oliver's wrist. The knife flew out of his hand and into the wall. Oliver laughed.

"Clever, Arthur. Very clever," he said. "But you forgot one thing." Before Arthur could even react, Oliver had him on the floor with his arms pinned over his head and a short knife above his heart. "I always have two."

"You bloody bastard..." said England. "YOU GODDAMN BASTARD!" Oliver laughed.

"You know, I always thought the first out of us to kill their 1P would be Luciano. Feliciano was always so easy a target. Of course, that's when he's alone. Oh well. Luciano's loss is my gain. Goodbye, Arthur Kirkland." Oliver raised the blade.

"NO!" Someone screamed. England shut his eyes as a bright white light spread out across the room. Something pulsed inside of his mind and pounded against his skull. Pressure off of his body was released, followed by a sickening crack. England managed to sit up despite the pain. He opened his eyes. He could make out a figure about a yard away. England pushed himself off of the floor and turned to face the source off the light. Behind him, there was only Twyla left standing. Her eyes had gone pure white, and her hands were crossed over her chest. It was from here the light was emanating. The headband she wore had morphed onto the crown from the picture, gem and all. Her hair turned from black to indigo, and Twyla had lavender angel-like wings on her back. Oliver was right. She wasn't human.

* * *

Twilight's world had faded into blankness. The last thing she could remember was her scream just as Oliver was about to kill Arthur. Something just... pounded and pulsated in her mind... She managed to get her hands free... then her vision blurred with white.

Suddenly, something grabbed what Twilight knew was her hands. They moved to her back, and full arms were wrapped around her. Slowly, her vision returned. Twilight blinked. Halfway across the room was Oliver. He was unconscious. Arthur had his arms around her.

"What happened?" She asked. Arthur pulled away from her, steadying his hands on her shoulders. He just looked at her. "Arthur. What happened? And how are you even alive? Oliver was about to kill you! Then there was this white in my-"

"Twyla," said Arthur in a firm tone. "You... you did it." Twilight blinked.

"Come again?"

"You did something. I can't explain it. You just..." Arthur removed a hand from Twilight's shoulder and pulled something off her head. Twilight almost gasped. Arthur was holding her crown. Not her headband. The six-pointed star gem was snugly fitted into its place. "I feel like it has something to do with this." Twilight looked at the ground. "I'm right, aren't I?" She nodded. Twilight took the crown from Arthur.

"I can't tell you," Twilight replied. She held her crown closer to her face. "_Mutationis_." The crown melded and morphed back into a headband. Only this time, the gem was it its place. Twilight slid it back on her head. She looked up at Arthur. "What?" Arthur shook his head.

"Nothing... it's nothing..." Arthur turned towards the door. "We should leave. Before they wake up." Twilight nodded.

"Let's hurry then." The Englishman and the princess quickly left the place, walking as quickly as they could back to Arthur's flat.

* * *

England went straight for his mobile phone as soon as the pair got home. He made a beeline for the kitchen, and Twyla headed to the guest room to change her torn clothing. As soon as he heard the door shut, England dialed the last person to have called him. Unfortunately, he had forgotten to check the name.

"_Hey_," said America from his end. England cursed silently in his head. "_What up?_"

"Don't 'hey' me," England said sternly.

"_Jeez, what's got your panties in a knot?_" He sighed.

"A certain blonde, blue-eyed twat."

"_Hey! What did I-_"

"It's not you." There was a relieved sigh from America's end.

"_Okay then. Hmm... France?_"

"No."

"_Uh... Germany?_"

"No."

"_What about Belarus?_"

"No."

"_Hmm... how about-_"

"America if you even finish that sentence, I swear I will slap you next time I see you." There was silence for a moment. "Just listen." America hummed a yes. "Alright. To start out, I have a guest staying with me."

"_Are they the one who pissed you off?_" America asked.

"No. Shut up. As I said, she and I-"

"_So it's a girl? What she look like?_" England gritted his teeth together in frustration.

"I said to shut your mouth. She and I got into a fight this morning. She ran off. I went after her. I don't know how it happened, but then he managed to capture her along with some... man. I couldn't see his face."

"_So... you need help getting her back?_"

"No!" England snapped. "It was him. The one who took her. America, it was my second player." An abrupt silence fell.

"_I'm sorry, but did you just say that your insane, cupcake-loving 2P got your girl?_"

"Yes. And she's not 'my girl', she's a person that is staying at my home for the time being that happens to be female."

"_Sure..._" America said with obvious sarcasm.

"Don't be sarcastic with me, Alfred. He said that she was able to use powerful... something, I forget what he called them, along with five others. They're going to use them to kill us."

_"And you're telling me this why...?_" England slammed his hand on the counter out of frustration.

"ALFRED F. JONES!" America laughed.

"_Calm down, dude,"_ he said_. "I gotcha. So, why are you calling me?"_

"Because. Oliver isn't far from my flat in London. I think I have somewhere else I could we can stay until he leaves, but until then, I can't leave Twyla alone. Otherwise, he'll come back for her. And then it'll be off with our heads." America remained silent.

"_Dude, just bring her to the meeting_," he said after a while.

"And what? Have her find out about the Nations?" questioned England. "There's no way I'm doing that."

"_It's cool. A few of the others are doing the same thing. Apparently the same thing happened at their places. Well, minus the whole actually getting kidnapped part._" England raised one of his eyebrows.

"And that doesn't strike you as strange? That this happened to us? Us Nations specifically?"

"_Nope! Not at all!_" America laughed, but it came out slightly nervous.

"America, is there something you're not telling me?"

"_What do you mean? I'm not hiding anything!_"

"Alfred..."

"_Uh... gotta go! Dinner's done! Um... Later!_" The dial tone rang for a minute. England stood silent, wondering what his former colony was hiding from him. Eventually the Brit just shrugged it off, and went to see how Twyla was doing.

She was alright, as far as he could tell. The girl was sitting in one of the chairs out in his living space. She had her knees brought up to her chest and was dressed in her night clothes.

"Twyla." Twyla jumped and turned to face England. She relaxed.

"Sorry," she said. "You just scared me." England nodded and sat adjacent to her.

"I understand. That whole... thing that just happened would have frightened anyone."

"It didn't scare you." England sighed. "My only question is why. Why weren't you scared? It seemed like he knew you, too. Do you know him?"

"All I can say is yes, I do." He ran a hand through his blonde hair. "There's a large handful of things I can't tell you. After all, everything's built on secrets. They keep us sane. The Nations specifically..."

"What was that last part?"

"Nothing. Just nonsense. Anyway, I believe I have a question for you." Twyla perked up.

"What is it?" England's emerald eyes looked into her violet ones. The one question that came to mind was the one England knew she wouldn't answer, but he had to ask it anyway. He sighed. Given what had happened that morning, Twyla was proven one to keep her secrets.

"I was one the phone with a colleague of mine. I told him what happened." Twyla blinked.

"You what?"

"Listen, he wants you to come with me to the meeting tomorrow. He thinks you'll be a lot safer there than here." Twyla remained silent. She eventually nodded.

"Alright. I'll go." England nodded as well before standing up.

"Well, it's late. I'm going to sleep." He started for his bedroom. "Good n-"

"Arthur, wait." England stopped as Twyla grabbed his arm. A jolt ran through her fingers, shocking both Twyla and England.

* * *

Twilight let go of Arthur immediately. She drew her hand close to her chest. Arthur looked down at his arm.

"Did you just electrocute me?" He asked. Twilight shook her head.

"No..." she said, "I don't think so. Even if I did, it was an accident. Electricity is something my magic can't control." Arthur shook his head with a sigh.

"It was probably just static. Why did you grab me anyway?" Twilight shifted in the chair.

"I just wanted to say thank you. For saving me earlier. I don't want to know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up. So... thanks."

"It's fine."

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Arthur stiffened.

"I was in the military. I told you this."

"Right..." Twilight sighed, twirling her fingers around each other. She was remembering the promise she had made earlier. She was hesitant in her action, not sure if the Englishman would believe her. "Arthur. There's something I need to tell you."

"Can it wait until morning?" Arthur asked. Twilight hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. Arthur sighed. "Fine then. What is it?"

"I... I haven't been completely honest with you."

"Neither have I, what's your point?"

"You remember when I said I was here on a mission?" Twilight said, ignoring the previous statement. Arthur nodded. "I lied."

"Then why are you here?" He asked.

"I came here for protection." Twilight sighed. "Arthur, I'm not really normal."

"I know."

"I'm actually a princess from another country that I'm pretty sure you can't find on a normal world map."

"I know."

"Not to mention that I control this powerful Element that when combined with the power of five others could have the potential to either save the world or destroy it!"

"I know."

"And on top of all that, I'm not even human!"

"I know."

"Just please listen to me, I'm not-" Twilight was cut off halfway through her sentence when Arthur put a hand over her mouth.

"For the fifth time, Twyla. I know this already, most of it anyway." Twilight's eyes widened as Arthur removed his hand.

"You... know?" He nodded. "How? I never told you this, and I'm pretty sure I don't talk in my sleep." Arthur sighed.

"Oliver told me. When I went to get you." Twilight's face fell.

"How much did he tell you?"

"Not much. About everything you just told me." Twilight nodded. "So... if you're not human, then why do you look-"

"It's a spell I found that changes my appearance," she said, cutting him off. "In reality, I don't look all that different. It's still me. Even if I'm not human."

"I understand. Well then," Arthur said as Twilight stood up. "We better be off to bed then. Both you and I have a plane to catch in the morning. Hopefully I can get another ticket." Twilight nodded and the pair headed off into their separate rooms.

* * *

"Arthur? Were you in my room?"

"... No. Why are you asking?"

"A picture in my room was moved. Are you sure you weren't in my room?"

"Er... yes."

"... Liar. Stay out of my room. I thought you learned that by now."

"It's learnt."

"Sorry, but I don't speak the Queen's english!"

"Are you mocking my accent?"

"Hahaha, No!"

"Twyla!"

"Good night Arthur!"

"... Good night 'your highness'."

...

"Shut up."

* * *

_A bond stitched together by enchantment. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Spirit of Magic are connected_


End file.
